The Master of Death
by Darth Wartriarr
Summary: His name is Hadrian James Potter, son of James Potter and Lily Potter. He was known as the Boy-Who-Lived, and that's all the Magical World thought of him. He wished to be remembered for something more than that. Powerful/Smarter Harry. Harry/Multi. Manipulative Dumbledore.
1. Prologue

**The Master of Death**

 **Prologue**

 **WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.**

 **A/N: I would like to thank oro03910, Namikaze Uzumaki Potter, Mookatookabooka, Calypto and potterfan007 for your reviews.**

"Harry Potter was a monster! And so was your father for following him!" One Hogwarts student from Gryffindor shouted in his Herbology class. The Hufflepuff student in front of him glared back at the Gryffindor with just as much hatred as the Gryffindor was giving him.

"You take that back. Harry Potter and my father were heroes!" The Hufflepuff denied venomously. "They brought peace to the Magical World!" The two argued for a few more moments, neither noticing the elderly figure walking towards him. The man, despite his age, was still very fit and muscular. His grey beard was finely shaved, and it was completely grey just like his hair. His most striking feature was the scar running down from the man's forehead and disappeared underneath his robes. The wrinkles in his eyes deepened as he observed his two arguing students.

"That is enough!" The elderly man said in his deep baritone voice. The two students and every other student in the class quietened down instantly. "Why are you two arguing and not getting on with the work I set out for you?"

"Father, he said that you and Harry were monsters!" The young Hufflepuff exclaimed. The Herbology teacher turned to face the young Gryffindor. One of his greyed eyebrows raised in questioning. The Gryffindor student flushed in embarrassment and fear as he ducked his head to avoid the elderly man's piercing gaze.

"Well Mr Weasley? Is this true?"

"Y-yes Professor Longbottom." The young Weasley mumbled in fear of retribution. It was sometimes difficult for the students to remember that this was one Harry Potter's right-hand men. One of his top commanders and most vicious followers.

"See father." The Longbottom child spoke up.

"Enough Frank." Professor Longbottom said simply, causing Frank to quickly shut his mouth. "How many of you believe that Harry and I were monsters? You can speak freely, it does not matter to me what you think." Out of the thirty people in the classroom, around ten raised their hands. "I see. How many of you here, know who Harry really was?" No one raised their hands. "I thought so. This is exactly why I followed Harry. But, I will tell you why Harry did what he did."

He looked at all of them.

"When Harry was but a year old, his parents were murdered by a Dark Lord known as Lord Voldemort. At the time, the Dark Lord's followers - known as Death Eaters - were killing Muggle-borns, who they believed had stolen their magic." He could see the incredulousness and shock at what he said shining in the eyes of every child in the room. "The Magical World forgot who James and Lily Potter were, only remembering Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. He hated it, he believed it was an insult to his parent's memory, and so, when he returned to the Magical World he realised that wizards and witches were sheep. Believing the lies told by others with no proof to back them up." The, 'just like you' went unsaid.

"What did he do Professor?" One Hufflepuff girl questioned as she paid rapt attention.

"He vowed to change the world. Not just Britain. He gathered followers from all over the world and declared war upon the bigots and purebloods." Professor Longbottom said.

"I remember this. My mum said that Harry Potter fought Lord Voldemort, Dumbledore and another Dark wizard but I can't remember his name." A Gryffindor spoke up.

"His name was Gelert Grindelwald who had fooled the entire world into believing he was dead." Professor Longbottom explained. "Harry's army outnumbered each of their armies, but even when defeat was imminent, they did not surrender, and it cost the lives of hundreds more."

"What was it like serving under him?" One student interrupted.

"It was amazing. It didn't matter if you were squib, a magical creature, a wizard or witch, black or white, crippled or whole, rich or poor, pureblood, half blood or a first-gen. You were all equal in his eyes. Brothers and sisters in arms." The elderly wizard smiled with nostalgia. "He did not treat you as pawns. Every life mattered to him, he fought alongside us, bled alongside us, and he risked his life to save common soldiers. He inspired so much loyalty that you couldn't help but follow him." Every student seemed to be filled with awe as they heard their Professor speak.

"My dad said that he was the greatest wizard to ever live, is that true?" A Hufflepuff spoke up.

"Yes. Any magic that could be used to attack and defend, he would learn. He used everything at his disposal. He would always start a battle with his long daggers. Using them with such skill and grace that it was like watching a dance that enraptured you. Then when he unleashed his magic, by the gods it was fascinating to witness. He even earned himself the title One-Man-Army because of his skill in the war. For you see, what made Harry so dangerous was not his body, nor his magic. But his mind. That was Harry's most dangerous weapon."

"I heard stories that he killed his own warriors!" One Gryffindor exclaimed.

"No, he never killed, he only ever punished them. For you see, Harry expected nothing less than perfection from his followers. If you messed up, your punishments severity depended on how badly you messed up."

"But that's cruel and unfair!"

"I thought so too." Professor Longbottom said in agreement causing the Hufflepuff to look at him in shock. "I confronted him about it, and do you know what he said, he said that what happens if that man's failure resulted in the deaths of everyone around him? I couldn't answer him, but it made sense." The Hufflepuff student slowly sat down in shock.

"You see, Harry cared for everyone. No one was scared to follow him to the death; do you know why?" Every student shook their head. "It's because if you died for the cause, your families would be compensated, their wives and children given the money they needed to live a comfortable lifestyle. And the men and women loved him for it. They went into battle, confident that if they died for what they believed in, their families would be well looked after. So, tell me Mr Weasley, do you still think he is a monster like your father says he is?"

"No Professor Longbottom." Nodding his head, he looked to see that everyone else shared the same thoughts as the young Weasley. "Professor, is he still alive?"

"Harry?" He questioned. "Some say he died along with his wives, most believed he died fighting for what he believed in, others say that he is out living the life of a hermit somewhere." He chuckled at the thought of his childhood friend as an elderly man living in isolation learning religion. "Me though. He's somewhere out there…"

 _A young-looking man in his prime with long curly black hair extending down to his shoulders, wearing a black, long-sleeved scaly top, with a silver chest plate, armguards and gauntlets covering their respective body parts. On his left gauntlet were three wooden sticks, one on either side and one on top, on his right was a single black stone in the middle. Covering his lower half were black, scaly pants with similar silver leg braces. On his back was a simple black cloak that had two blade handles sticking out from the top._

 _In his right hand, he held a stick which he used to prod at the fire before him. One push with the stick caused him to knock over a large log that caused the fire to grow in size and spit out some ash._

 _In doing so it illuminated his face revealing glowing green eyes as he stared at the fire intently._

"…He may not even be in this world anymore; but he's out there somewhere…"

 _"Lord Potter!" Looking up from his position, he saw a larger than normal person running towards him. It looked humanoid, except had very gentle and angelic features. The most prominent feature was its pointed ears sticking out from its long, flowing, blonde hair. It was dressed in blue robes with golden armour on top. In its left hand was a large, golden kited-shaped shield and a curved sword. Beside it three more figures appeared._

 _One was short and stubby, dressed fully in silver armour, with long pointed ears and had longer than average fingers. It had a round, silver shield and a short, curved blade. The next figure had the lower body of a horse, covered in silver armour. The top half was humanoid which was covered in a similar outfit to Lord Potter and strapped to its back was a bow and quiver of arrows, with multiple more on its horse-like body. The next figure was half-man, half-bull. It was covered entirely in big, bulky silver armour. In both hands it held a battle axe, easily three quarters of its overall height, with each blade the length of its body._

 _"They're here." The shorter one said. Nodding his head, Lord Potter stood up and made his way out of the small cave._

 _They trudged through the muddy ground for a few moments. All around them, Minotaur's, Centaurs, Goblins, Elves, Acromantula's, Giants, Trolls, Vampires, ordinary men with wolf-like features and all manner of other creatures were rising from their positions. Each dressed in armour and gripping their weapons tightly._

 _Lord Potter quickly came upon a large dragon, its scales coated in melted silver, adding extra protection. The beast nudged its head in his direction and the man placed his hands gently on either side and rested his head against the dragons._

 _Pulling away he climbed on top and two other animals joined him. A single large anaconda, easily thirty-three feet in length and a single snowy, white owl._

 _Giving the two a smile, Lord Potter locked his legs tightly around the dragon's neck as it rose into the air giving a loud roar that shook the very ground. Its wings expanding outwards paying homage to its colossal size. The man on its back looked down at the ground to see hundreds of thousands of magical creatures all dressed up in armour. Drawing his two swords, as the dragon rose into the air and many other dragons followed._

"…fighting another great battle to bring peace to other worlds. No matter what they think of him afterwards." Professor Longbottom finished with a nostalgic smile as he thought of his childhood friend. He knew that no matter where he was, Harry was doing what he did best.

Fighting.

 _With a roar, Harry raised his two long daggers above his head and brought them down upon the demon beneath. All around him, thousands of bodies littered the ground. Both creature and demon alike. The river nearby had been dyed red with blood._

 _He saw Goblins using their smaller size to take out the ankles of demons, while another Goblin would kill the demon. He saw Centaurs galloping around, firing arrows at great speeds, Minotaur's swinging their axes around, taking out multiple demons in a single swipe. Elves using their natural grace to fight and kill multiple demons at a time._

 _Each magical creature, killing demons with such ferocity and hatred that their bodies which were once covered in shiny silver metal, were now dyed black with demon blood._

 _He smiled and turned to face six oncoming demons. With a roar he charged forwards._


	2. Introduction to the Magical World

**The Master of Death.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.**

 **A/N: I would like to thank hellfire45, harrysgurl22, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Phantomsoul2015, marilynT, sk18, god of all, Otsutsuki no Yami, uzuuchi007, Zeropowers0, anarion87, kamui5 god of all, Enshin Hogo-sha, hellfire45, Guest, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Otsutsuki no Yami, chc91776 for your reviews.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 _My name is Hadrian James Potter, Harry Potter for short. Of course, from the time I was two all the way till I was four, I thought my name was Freak. My aunt and uncle, Petunia and Vernon Dursley were obsessed with normality. Perhaps that was the reason they hated me. I was abnormal._

 _Able to do things no child or living person should be able to do. The first appearance of my powers was when my aunt shaved my head of all my hair, the next day it grew back to its normal mess. My aunt had screamed and raged with outrage. When my uncle came down I learnt how much my relatives were obsessed with normality. The beating I suffered that day left me on deaths door, and only thanks to my powers did my body grow back stronger than before however, the scars remained._

 _My uncle, luckily for him made sure to not damage any visible part of my body, only the parts that were hidden by clothing. My aunt on the other hand made sure that I was constantly working, cleaning the house, cooking the food, weeding the gardens, etc._

 _At the age of five I went to school and quickly learned that teachers did not believe the ramblings of a child. Especially not the ramblings of a delinquent child. Or so the rumours his aunt and uncle made up of him. However, I was still a child and craved the love of my family. So, I foolishly believed that if I did well in my subjects they would love me._

 _They did not, they believed I cheated and stole their dear Dudelykins answers._

 _After that moment I realised the only person you could trust was yourself. So, I made plans to change my life. Stealing money from my uncle when he was not watching, I began to save up for a camera. It took me three months, but when I did I began to take pictures of the abuse I suffered._

 _Of course, two pictures did not count as sufficient proof in the eyes of adults and my 'room' was always clean due my efforts at creating a sanctuary. I would need to make this even more convincing if I was to make my plans work. So, I began to learn how to control my powers. It was slow, but by the age of seven I could do wondrous things. I could levitate, push and pull objects and I even managed to teleport, something I managed to do when I tried to escape from my cousin and his goons. The last one was the hardest one to learn to control, but my natural ability to learn made it possible._

 _By age eight, I was clothed and fed like a proper child, growing to an average height for my age and even taking up sports. Something I later learnt was that the fitter my body, the better control I had over my powers. The library was my favourite place in Little Whinging, specifically the fantasy section._

 _Something about it just called to me. That and the various books on wizards and witches made for excellent inspiration on what to do. One thing was to manipulate my powers – which I now called magic – into an invisible crushing force, which I found could crush a spider. One that had been particularly annoying. That was as large an animal I could crush until I turned ten when I killed a bird who had stolen the only picture I had of my mother._

 _Then I turned eleven and that's when everything changed._

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 **Hogwarts School of**

 **Witchcraft and Wizardry**

 ** _Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_**

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme_

 _Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)_

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1st of September. We await your owl by no later than 31st of July.

Yours sincerely,

 ** _Minerva McGonagall_**

 ** _Deputy Headmistress_**

He stared at the letter once, twice and then a third time. However, he never allowed his control of his emotions to slip. Knowing if he did so his magic would run wild. He allowed his control to slip once and he had caused the entire weather pattern of Surrey to change for a month. The summer being ravaged by snow. Since that day he had worked constantly on keeping his emotions in check.

Grabbing the envelope once again he looked inside to see another letter enclosed within it.

 ** _First Year Students will require:_**

 ** _\- Uniform:_**

 _\- Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black)_

 _\- One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear_

 _\- One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _\- One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all student's clothing should carry a name-tag at all times._

 ** _\- Books:_**

 _\- The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk_

 _\- A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot_

 _\- Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling_

 _\- A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch_

 _\- One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore_

 _\- Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger_

 _\- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander_

 _\- The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble_

 ** _\- Other Equipment:_**

 _\- 1 Wand_

 _\- 1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _\- 1 set of glass or crystal phials_

 _\- 1 telescope_

 _\- 1 set of brass scales_

 _\- Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat or a Toad_

 _Parents are reminded that first years are not allowed their own broomstick._

Taking a deep breath, he got to his feet.

Turning to the mirror he made sure he was presentable. It was one of the only things he learned from his uncle. Always look presentable as appearances could be the difference between you succeeding or failing.

His outfit was smart, but also casual. Skinny jogging pants, a black, zip up hoodie slightly open revealing a white t-shirt underneath. His once shaggy black hair was slightly tamed, in the way he spiked it upwards. It still retained its wild nature, but it was much more fashionable, with a small clutch of hair covering his lightning shaped scar. Then there were his green eyes that had once been hidden by large round spectacles, now replaced with contact lenses that allowed his vivid green eyes to shine brightly.

Overall, it was easy to tell that in a few years he would be a real heartbreaker.

Walking down the stairs with his letter clutched in his hands he entered the kitchen to see his aunt and uncle sat at the table. His cousin, Dudley was sat in the living room watching television stuffing his mouth with food.

"Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon." The two people in question looked up from their respective activities. Their eyes strayed from their nephew to the letter clutched in his hands and both tensed. They had been waiting for this day ever since Harry turned eleven, both had prepared for this day.

"Is that what I think it is?" Harry nodded his head. "I'm guessing you would like me to take you down to London then?" Vernon asked while simultaneously folding up his morning newspaper. Once again Harry nodded. "Very well. Get changed and I'll take you down there."

They never spoke much, both sides having an agreement.

Stay out of each other's way.

Quickly getting changed into a pair of jeans and one of his nicer hoodies, he rushed downstairs and out into the car. His mind alight with what the Magical World had in store for him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The journey was quick. His uncle, knowing the location of the Leaky Cauldron – which so happened to be the entrance to Diagon Alley – from his Aunt, who had accompanied his mother when she got her letter. Pulling up outside, Harry opened the door and got out of the car.

"Remember our deal boy." Vernon said as the door closed. Waving him off, Harry walked towards the dingy looking pub and opened the door.

The deal he was on about was the agreement that Harry would book a room at the Leaky Cauldron every summer. This was a win-win for both parties. His relatives didn't have to deal with him all summer and he didn't have to deal with them.

Stepping inside the Leaky Cauldron he saw multiple oddly dressed men and women drinking. The pub was dimly light, with only a few candles burning and it looked like it hadn't had a very good clean in a while. Moving towards the bar, where an elderly looking man stood cleaning a bottle. In front and to the left of the bartender was a robe dressed man with a purple turban wrapped round his head.

The turban wearing man, looked over his shoulder and stared at Harry with interest, his gaze flickering to his scar. Instantly he felt a searing pain, like his brain was on fire. Slowly he focused his magic into his brain allowing it to soothe his mind.

As he did so, the turban wearing man recoiled as if he had been struck. Instantly his mind narrowed in on the possibility that he was the reason for his pain.

"First year, aye?" The bartender said breaking Harry from his thoughts.

"Yes, I was wondering on how to get into Diagon Alley."

The bartender smiled and nodded his head. "Follow me then lad." He walked from behind the bar and towards a door on the opposite side of the bar. Opening the door, he walked into a small, very small courtyard, following after him he watched as the bartender pressed his drawn wand into certain bricks. His mind committed the bricks to memory so that he didn't have to rely on others. It was something he hated above all else, relying on others.

As the bartender pressed the final brick all the wall began to move apart revealing Diagon Alley in all its glory. From the countless wizards and witches moving around, to the numerous display so magic and magical items.

The sound of chuckling made him turn around to see the bartender staring at him in amusement.

"Name's Tom, and if you need anything let me know…" He let himself trail off.

"Hadrian Potter and thank you." With that Harry left completely oblivious to the wide-eyed stare of Tom.

Moving through Diagon Alley filled him with childlike wonder he hadn't felt in a long time.

 _'Where to begin.'_ He thought as he looked from one shop to the next. 'However, before I can get anything I'll need money.' From what his aunt had told him, which she in turn was told by his mother, was that there was a bank called Gringotts run by Goblins. _'Gringotts it is.'_

Moving quickly through the crowds of students and parents alike he made his way to the large white building with 'Gringotts Bank' engraved above the doorway. Entering he made his way to the desk on the opposite side of the bank. His eyes flickered from either side watching as different wizards and witches got served by small, long fingered, pointy eared creatures.

Goblins.

Interesting. They didn't look like bankers; his eyes could make out that the Goblins were more than meets the eye. Warriors. Smirking he moved forwards till he came to a stop at his destination.

"Hello." The Goblin continued to write on the parchment, unaware of him completely. "Hello."

"Name?" It drawled.

"Hadrian James Potter." The Goblin stopped what it was doing and looked over the desk at the young child in front of his desk.

"Griphook." One of the Goblins standing guard on either side of the desk came forward and bowed to the first Goblin. "Escort Mr Potter to Account Manager Ripclaw." Griphook bowed and then turned to face Harry. Giving a grunt, he turned around and began walking. Taking this as a sign to follow he did so and soon found himself discovering that Gringotts was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Each door on either side of the corridor was marked with a single golden plaque, upon which only two words made sense to him, 'Account Manager.' The first word was probably the name of a wizarding family, then the final word was probably the name of the Goblin.

Finally, they came to a stop outside a door, on the golden plaque were the words, 'Potter Account Manager, Ripclaw.'

Entering the room, he found a single desk, much smaller in size to that of the ones at the entrance to Gringotts, in fact it was much like a muggle desk. On it were multiple stacks of paper and files and behind it was a single Goblin.

"Mr Potter, we have been trying to get in contact with you since your eleventh birthday. Do you believe your fame means you can ignore our summons?" Ripclaw ground out.

"I have received no summons, Mr Ripclaw. If I had I would have come." Ripclaw seemed to study him for a few moments, his figure tense as his eyes checked every movement Harry made. Slowly he relaxed into his chair and hooked his long fingers together.

"You're sure you have not received any summons?" Ripclaw pressed. Harry straightened his back and stared directly into Ripclaw's eyes.

"None." He said confidently. Slowly the hard look on Ripclaw's face turned into a feral smile and Harry felt himself grow nervous of the outcome. Though he did not let his weakness show.

"Very well, Mr Potter. I shall have some Goblins look into this." Ripclaw said, before clicking his fingers. Instantly a sheet of paper floated from the centre of a large pile of paper and laid itself down in front of the Goblin. "It's impressive that you looked me in the eye, some Goblins take that as you are challenging them to a duel. Lucky for you, I'm not one of those Goblins."

Harry tensed slightly and a thin shine of sweat formed on the back of his neck. He was confident in his skills, but not enough to take on any magical adept individual, hell he would not even fight a muggle adult knowing that he would lose.

Ripclaw chuckled.

"Sit." Doing as the Goblin said, he took a seat and watched Ripclaw do a quick scan of the paper before handing it to him. "Now that we have established your problems in receiving Gringotts summons, let's sort out your accounts. You are currently, heir Hadrian James Potter of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. On that sheet of paper is a list of all your lordships you can have should you choose to take them, the vaults of those lordships and the contents inside of them."

 **Identity:**

 _Hadrian James Potter._

 _Immediate Family:_

 _James Potter; Lily (Evans) Potter._

 **Lordships:**

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay_

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Albion._

 **Vaults of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter:**

 _Potter Main Vault: 1,047,900 Galleons, 20,580 Sickles, 3,600 Knuts, including family Grimoire._

 _Potter Trust Vault: 50,625 Galleons, 1,347 Sickles, 948 Knuts._

 **Vaults of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell:**

 _Peverell Main Vault: 7,340 Galleons._

 _Peverell Secondary Vault: 10,000 books including the family Grimoire._

 _Peverell Vault: 100,000,000 Galleons in liquidated treasures._

 **Vaults of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay:**

 _Le Fay Main Vault: 306,900 Galleons, 25,700 Sickles including family heirloom, library and Grimoire._

 **Vaults of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw:**

 _Ravenclaw Main Vault: 482,600 Galleons, 37,159 Sickles._

 _Ravenclaw Secondary Vault: Family library and Grimoire._

 **Vault of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Albion:**

 _Albion Main Vault: Family heirloom, library and Grimoire._

"That's a lot of money." Harry finally said after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, overall you have a total of one million, eight hundred and ninety-five thousand, and three hundred and sixty-five thousand galleons. Eighty-four thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six sickles and four thousand, five hundred and forty-eight Knuts. That makes you the single richest heir in Magical Britain." Ripclaw said. "Not only that but you have in total of twenty-six votes making you a powerful political figure when you take your seat on the Wizengamot."

"Mr Ripclaw, is your only job to manage the affairs of the Potters or do you have other families?" Harry asked.

"I originally only managed the Potter accounts, but seeing as though a Potter heir has multiple lordships, it is my job to manage those families as well. Why?" Ripclaw asked curiously.

"I would like you to merge all the Potter vaults into one single vault and do the same with the Peverell and Ravenclaw vaults. Then I would like you to begin investing money into successful businesses to help increase my wealth." Ripclaw smirked with amusement, it seemed Harry knew exactly what drove a Goblin without realising it. "Do any of these families own any businesses?"

"Yes, the Potter's only as the others have either had their companies bought by other families or never owned any in the first place." The Goblin explained. "But I'll get onto what you have asked."

"Thank you Mr Ripclaw." Harry bowed.

"You're welcome Mr Potter, but call me Ripclaw. I believe if this meeting has shown me anything, it's that I'm going to enjoy working with you very much."

"Only if you call me, Harry."

"Very well then Harry. I shall allow you to collect your equipment for school. If you have any more questions or need any help just let me know."

"I will do."

"Very good. Griphook, escort Harry to his trust vault." Harry left the room following behind Griphook. Ripclaw watched him leave before a frown took over his features. The door to his room opened and in came another Goblin.

"You felt it too, Ragnok?" Ripclaw asked.

"Yes, Mr Potter is a Horcrux." Ragnok said and looked at the door.

"What do you plan to do then?"

"Nothing for now. We will wait."

"And if he finds out. Harry strikes me as a person who will not like those he trusts lying to him." Ragnok looked at him with confusion.

"He trusts you?" Ragnok asked.

"No, but I imagine he might do so."

"Good, we will tell him when it comes to it, but work on gaining his trust. When we have it, we will tell him. Mr Potter will be a valuable ally or a dangerous enemy when he reaches his maturity." Ragnok explained.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Diagon Alley was just like he had expected. Magical. It was the only word he could use to describe it. The sheer number of shops were astounding. Each filled to the brim with different magical items and books.

Using the money, he had gotten from his trust vault he had quickly made his way around the area. Collecting his school uniform from Madam Malkins and also purchasing two dress robes, both made of Acromantula silk. Then he went to multiple shops collecting his potions ingredients and his cauldrons. He did all that within the first twenty minutes of exiting Gringotts.

Flourish and Blotts was one of the more interesting shops in his visit. Buying the books along with multiple ones to read in his own time. The books he bought were: Wizarding Etiquette, Wizarding Law and Politics, the History of Magical Britain, the Greatest Wizards and Witches of the world, and Hogwarts: A History. But one thing he did find very interest was the books based around his supposed life.

Then came his most anticipated shop. Ollivanders.

Entering the shop, he moved forwards towards the counter and looked behind at the shelves stacked to the brim with small boxes, which no doubt contained a wand. His senses alerted him to something moving behind him.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you Mr Potter." Ollivander said as he appeared behind him. Harry gave no outward reaction and simply stood still. Slowly he moved round to the front of the counter and stared deeply into his own emerald ones. "Seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands. Your fathers was 11", mahogany with a Dragon Heartstring, pliable. Excellent for transfiguration. Your mothers on the other hand was 10¼", made of willow with a Unicorn hair. Swishy and excellent for charms work. Now, which is your preferred arm?"

"Right." Nodding his head, Ollivander gave a flick of his wand and a tape measure began to take all mannerisms of measurements. Once he was done he moved around the shop before presenting a single wand to him.

"Here we are." Grasping the wand tightly he looked to Ollivander. "Well go on then, give it a flick." Doing so he caused a nearby light to explode. "No, no, no." Snatching the wand from his hand, Ollivander quickly went from wand to wand, trying to find the perfect match. One wand he had felt a slight connection to, but it didn't feel like it was connected to him, more like something else. Ollivander seemed especially baffled by that outcome.

Pushing what seemed to be the hundredth wand away he began pacing down the shelves. A slightly organised shop was completely destroyed with every wand box somewhere different.

Slowly, Ollivander's eyes drifted towards a shelf covered completely in dust. On it was a single wand box. It had been the first wand he had made. To all Wand Makers, the first wand he/she creates will be the most powerful they make. No one knows why, it's just the way things are. One of those little things about life that you can't change not matter how much you try.

Picking it up he handed it hesitantly over to Harry and instantly he knew that the wand had chosen its master. There was no great display of magic just a feeling of coldness.

"Fascinating." Ollivander said breathlessly.

"Excuse me, Mr Ollivander, but what is fascinating?" Harry asked curiously.

"That wand is the first wand I ever created and the most powerful I ever created. Eleven inches, yew with a Thestral hair, handle encased with the bone of a Cerberus, also known as Hell Hounds. It's curious because each element has a connection to death." The wand creator said.

"How so?"

"Cerberus' have been rumoured to be the pets of Death, however there has been nothing to prove this theory. Thestral's are the symbols of death as only those that have seen death can see them and finally the wood. Yew, the same wood that was part of the wand that killed your parents."

There was a pregnant pause as Harry stared at his wand. It was long and springy, but thanks to the Cerberus/Hell Hound bone for the handle it made it also very sturdy, which according to Ollivander made it perfect for all types of magic. Both the powerful and refined magic. The bone itself was styled into the head of a dragon, a beast of great power and destruction.

"So, it's a wand meant to kill. Meant to deal out death." Ollivander shook his head.

"It's a wand that chose the wizard who was capable of great deeds, both good and evil." He seemed to inflate with giddiness. "I can't wait to see what you can accomplish as the last person who did great things was the one who gave you that scar." He inclined his head towards him.

"Thank you, Mr Ollivander."

"Oh, before you forget. Your wand has a Trace on it. It's placed in there to stop the muggleborns from practising magic in the presence of muggles and breaking the Statute of Secrecy." Harry nodded his head. "I know one shop in another alley that may assist you with your problem."

"Thank you." Inclining his head, Harry left the shop and moved through Diagon Alley. Then he entered the shop called Magical Menagerie. He looked at the countless pets scattering the shop. Cats, dogs, owls, toads, snakes and other mannerisms of animals. Moving through the shop he looked into the eyes of each animal. Pushing his magic outwards to see which would suit him. After fifteen minutes of searching that showed no results. He pushed his magic not into a single animal, but he pushed it into each animal. Out of all the animals in the shop, only two responded to his magic.

The first was a snowy owl. Pure white feathers and intelligent amber eyes that peered into his own emerald.

Slowly he reached forwards and opened the cage. Placing his hand into the cage he watched the owl's reaction. It gave no indication of it been displeased with the arm inside its cage, instead its head moved from the arm to his eyes. Slowly he hopped onto the arm and Harry withdrew his arm from the cage with the owl perched on it.

"You're lucky lad." The shopkeeper spoke up from behind him. "Many wizards and witches have tried to buy that owl, and each have gone home with bloodied fingers. You're the first person she's allowed to touch her."

Looking at the owl he saw that she returned his stare with equal curiosity.

"Yes, I can imagine. Hedwig strikes me as a smart owl." Hedwig hooted and nuzzled the top of her head against his cheek. "Can you tell me what is in that room?"

"Snakes. Though we're planning to get rid of them."

"I'd like to purchase them all and Hedwig as well." The shopkeeper choked on air and it took him a few moments to recover.

"All of them. There are ten, it will cost a lot of money." Harry snorted in amusement. After all he was the richest person in Magical Britain, if he couldn't afford ten snakes and an owl – admittedly a beautiful owl – it would be quite the story.

"I can afford it." The shopkeeper nodded his head and quickly led him into the room. It was a bit dusty, obviously due to a lack of visitors. He looked at the ten snakes and saw that five were simple house snakes, they were larger than normal due to being in a magical environment. There was a single King Cobra, an anaconda, two rattlesnakes and a single Echis. A large assortment of snakes. Each made more dangerous due to their exposure to magic.

All the snakes raised their heads, but soon went back to ignore them. However, the anaconda continued to stare at him. It was in total a length of one metre and looked just as dangerous as one would expect.

"Here." He handed over a large pouch that contained the required amount of Galleons, and a little bit extra. "You may leave, I wish to observe them for a while."

"Of course." The shopkeeper noticed a young heir when he saw one. Many an heir had come into his shop, buying pets and just like the rest of them, this one gave away his money because he had the money to spare.

 _§Look at the human ssssstaring at usssss. If it wassssn't for thisssss box I'd kill the human. §_ The cobra spat, or at least it sounded like it did. The other snakes seemed to agree with its assessment, except the anaconda who continued to regard him with curiosity.

 _§I can hear you. §_ Harry replied. His amusement grew as he watched every snake seemingly snap to attention.

 _§You ssssspeak our tongue? §_ One of the garden snakes asked.

 _§Yesssss. He can. §_ The anaconda spoke up. _§What'sssss your name human? §_

 _§Hadrian Jamessss Potter. §_

 _§Tell me child, why do I feel a connection to you? §_ Harry walked forwards.

 _§I do not know. Would you like to come with me? §_ He asked while placing his arm inside the anaconda's box. Slowly it slithered upwards, curling around his arm and wrapping around his neck.

 _§Doessss that ansssswer your quessstion? §_ Smirking, Harry looked at the two familiars he had acquired. He could feel his magic saturating them, changing them. 'Interesting. It seems that my magic is changing them. I wonder what happens when my magic and skills grow.' He smirked at the intriguing new development.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Knockturn Alley was just like he had heard. Dark, dingy and dedicated to the Dark Arts; each shop was full of interesting items and tomes. One such shop was Cobb & Webb's and another interesting shop was Borgin and Burkes. Maybe in his time he would visit those shops and see what they had to offer. After all Dark and Light were simply labels, all that mattered was power and how one used it.

The powerful could do what they wished because the weak was unable to stand up against them.

Entering a shop called Moribund's, it was a shop that seemed to simply sell nothing but the odd trinkets. Nothing too dark, but enough to attract the attention of the darker families of Magical Britain. It was also just as dark and dingy as the rest of Knockturn Alley.

"You know it's dangerous for a little boy like you to enter Knockturn Alley without a guardian." A man appeared from the shadows of the shop. He was elderly just like Ollivander however, his hair was long, black and shaggy much like a dog's. With his dark cloak and outfit underneath he fit the description of a dark wizard.

"I don't need anyone's protection." Harry snarled. There it was again. Wizards and witches believing that because he was young he was weak. It grew tiresome and insulting. With narrowed eyes he raised his hand into the air and with it the man rose into the air as well. His anaconda, Balthazar made its appearance known from his sleeve and bared its fangs at the frightened shopkeeper. "As you can see, I can look after myself."

"I can see that. Would you please put Moribund down until he has finished serving me?" The man who spoke was middle aged, probably in his late thirties/early forties with light brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in plain black robes with a crest on his left breast and he looked very amused. Behind him was a slightly aged woman who was still beautiful and was definitely an eye catcher in her prime. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, with his high cheekbones.

In front of the woman were two children. One was probably a year younger than him. She had the blonde hair and blue eyes of his mother, but lacked her high cheek bones. The other one was the same age as him. She too had the same blonde hair and blue eyes. Unlike the younger girl she had the high cheek bones of her mother. That wasn't the only difference between the two though. No, the younger still held the childlike innocence and naivety of children, while the older was cold and indifferent. Her gaze bore into his own, but also took into account the two animals he had.

Slowly he lowered his hand and the man fell to the ground.

 _§Return Balthazar. §_ The reaction to his use of Parseltongue was instant. The five other occupants of the room jumped in shock, even the young girl who had stared at him indifferently. He didn't know why they were so frightened of his ability, but it made him smirk in accomplishment.

"Y-you speak Parseltongue?" The man asked in shock.

"Is that what it's called? Huh, how interesting." He mused over the name of his ability. Judging by their reaction it was rare, and probably dangerous. That made him unique and also a target; he would have to keep this ability hidden. However, these people knew his ability, and would no doubt exploit his desire to keep it secret in any way they wished. He'd have to find something they also wished to keep hidden and use that to counteract anything they tried. Maybe Ripclaw could be of assistance in this matter; while he hated relying on others, he knew that working with others was sometimes a necessity. "Tell me, from the coat of arms on your chest, you are from a wizarding family. Though, I'm afraid I don't know which family."

The man recognised the question hidden away within his speech. Not willing to anger the child with a snake under his control he answered.

"My name is Jonathan Greengrass of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass. This is my wife Apollonia Greengrass and my two daughters, Daphne and Astoria." He introduced them in order of age, from the oldest to the youngest. "And you are?"

"Hadrian James Potter of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter." The shock on their faces was quite clearly seen, but each schooled their features, except for the youngest who continued to stare at him with awe. It confused him, why did she stare at him like he had done some great deed? Then he remembered something Ripclaw had said.

 _\- Do you believe your fame means you can ignore our summons?" -_

His fame. So, he had done something great that made the people of Magical Britain worship him. He would have to find out why.

"Quite rude of you, to not know the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Or is the Boy-Who-Lived above everyone else?" The girl, Daphne snapped. Raising an eyebrow at her hostility, he stared straight into her eyes. Cold sapphire met emerald green. Unnerved by the piercing stare he gave her, Daphne looked away.

"If you must know, I have been raised by muggle aunt and uncle and have only just recently joined the Magical World." Once again, shock was the commonly shared emotion by the five occupants.

"You were raised by muggles?!" Apollonia exclaimed in shock.

"Yes." Harry replied simply. Slowly he turned his gaze to Moribund who froze in position as he stared into the boy's eyes; the boys eyes the same shade as the Killing Curse. "I need you to do something for me." He pulled out his wand and showed it to the shopkeeper.

"It'll cost you ten galleons for the Trace to be removed." Harry nodded his head and chucked his wand to the man. Clumsily he caught the wand and quickly made his way into the back of the shop

"I do believe you stole my supplier." Jonathan deadpanned. Staring back at him, Harry gave a smirk.

"You were taking too long gawking at me." He shot back. Jonathan smirked in return at the quick comeback.

"Yes, I do believe we were." Apollonia stated. "Come children we will come back later." Quickly she ushered them out of the room, all the while Daphne continued to stare curiously at him. Jonathan noticed the look and his mind instantly thought of all the possibilities that could come about from such interest.

Harry meanwhile waited for thirty minutes before Moribund returned with his wand in hand.

"The Trace has been removed and the Ministry can no longer track your use of magic." He handed the wand over to Harry, who quickly took it back. In the short time he had the wand he felt a connection, like a part of his soul had been returned to him. Without it he felt like there was a hole that could only be filled by the return of his wand. "I have to say, it's almost a perfect fit."

"Almost?" Harry inquired.

"Almost." Moribund decided to elaborate further. "What Ollivander does is craft wands and then simply gives the wand to the wizard or witch that it chooses. For you see, each of Ollivander's wands have multiple users that could wield it. However, you can have custom made wands that will work for you and you alone."

"And how would I acquire a custom wand?" Moribund smirked at Harry, answering his question.

"With the right price, I'm sure someone would be willing to make you wand."

"How much would a custom wand cost?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I don't know, say two hundred galleons." Moribund suggested innocently. Obviously the fool believed that he was gaining a lot of money. Compared to the amount of money he had in his vaults, two hundred galleons was nothing.

"Done." Sputtering Moribund shakily nodded his head.

"Follow me then young lord." They moved round the counter to the back of the shop. Entering the back, he found a single desk littered with different pieces of wood and jars containing different ingredients.

"How do we do this?"

"Simply place your hand over each block of wood." Grabbing each block, he lined them up in front of Harry. "When you feel a pull to the wood simply point it out to me."

"And if I feel I a pull to more than one wood? I'm guessing the strongest one would be the one I choose?" Moribund nodded his head. Placing his hand over the first block of wood he moved along. Only two wood blocks responded. However, the block of Yew wood had the greatest pull, the other one once again responded to the part of him that doesn't feel like him. "This one."

"Yew, the same as your other wand." Moving towards he indicated for Harry to do the same again. Two ingredients responded. "The Dragon Heartstring of a Hungarian Horntail and Basilisk Venom of a twenty-foot Basilisk slayed by one of your ancestors. Abraham Potter who died due to the Basilisk Venom seeping into his bloodstream."

"Two cores? Is that possible?"

"Yes, to both questions. Its common among custom wands however, I had not expected to have to make a liquid core. Truly interesting and quite tricky." Seeing the inquiring stare directed at him he knew exactly what the answer was. "I can do it, don't worry. I'll have to dissolve the Dragon Heartstring in the venom and reinforce the wood with two additional things." Quickly he moved towards a desk and pulled out two boxes.

Inside one was multiple teeth, and in the other were multiple gems.

"The teeth will serve to stop the venom melting the wand away, while the gem will help to fuse the two cores together. So, if you please." Nodding his head, he moved forwards and ran his hand over the top of each.

Picking out a single tooth belonging to the same Basilisk. The last on the market apparently. He didn't doubt it, apparently the Basilisk had been in circulation for over fifty years. The gem itself was emerald and according to Moribund was an extremely powerful gem that could absorb and store magic from both the user and the enemy. This allowed the user to replenish his magical reserves when his were running low.

"The last ingredient is a vial of your blood." He held out a small glass vial and a silver knife.

"I hope my blood will not be used for anything else." Moribund quickly shook his head.

"Oh no. It's against the law to use the blood freely given by a lord for anything other than its original purpose." Moribund assured him. Nodding his head, Harry cut his hand with the knife and allowed his blood to pour into the vial. "Come back tomorrow and your wand shall be ready." Harry nodded his head and pulled out a bag of galleons. Placing it in Moribund's hands he turned and left. "Your payment is short by half."

"I know." Harry stopped before the door. "Half now, half when it is done. Insurance that you complete your work to your best standards." With that he left.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"What do you mean he wasn't there?" Dumbledore asked calmly. Across from his desk, Hagrid stood nervously watching the elderly wizard's reaction to the news. The Half-Giant had been sent by the Headmaster to induct a young and impressionable Harry Potter not only into the Magical World, but also to the Light Faction, Dumbledore's faction.

"Ah meant wat ah said." Hagrid said. "Ah went ta Dursley's and ah ask fer 'Arry and 'e want there."

Dumbledore sighed, slowly rubbing the bridge of his nose. His plans, it seemed, had changed. Hagrid was supposed to meet a love starved Harry Potter and convince him that Dumbledore was a great man who could do no wrong. Hagrid, of course would 'forget' to mention how to get onto Platform 9¾, which will soon be solved by the arrival of the Weasley matriarch, Molly Weasley.

This would then give birth to a friendship between Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. The youngest Weasley boy would easily influence Harry to his faction and further away from the dark.

A series of tests would then be given to ensure that Harry Potter was the one he needed. If he was then Harry Potter would be convinced to willingly sacrifice himself for the greater good. If he was not then, Neville Longbottom was the one he needed, and he would still gain a valuable ally in the Potter family.

Either way, the Chosen One would sacrifice himself, making Voldemort vulnerable. Enough so that he, Albus Dumbledore, could show the Magical World that he was the greatest wizard to ever live. Then, and only then, could he create the world he had desired.

But first, he would need to find Harry Potter and see what he was up to.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The following week had been filled with constant work on his behalf. Reading through the books he had bought whilst also sorting out his plans for the future with Ripclaw. Already he had read through the books for each of his first-year subjects, Wizarding Etiquette, Wizarding Law and Politics, the History of Magical Britain and had started reading the Greatest Wizards and Witches of the world, and Hogwarts: A History.

He had figured out that his fame was because he was the vanquisher of the Dark Lord Voldemort and was the only person to ever survive the Killing Curse. Of course, everyone seemed to forget that he had lost his parents that day and it infuriated him. They praised him for surviving when his parents did not. It was insulting.

He had also learnt from Ripclaw that his godfather, Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper and betrayed them to Voldemort; something which further angered him. It took three Goblins to put him to sleep so that his magic didn't get let loose on the world.

Not wishing to only be remembered for surviving when his parents didn't, he had organised for Ripclaw to arrange his entry into the Under 13's Duelling World Championship. Discreetly of course; he couldn't have the entirety of Magical Britain knowing of his entry. If he won he would be recognised as a powerful upcoming wizard, no one could doubt that his legacy would not only be limited to surviving.

Ripclaw had also brought to his attention that someone had been stealing money from his trust vault. In the past eleven years a total of ten thousand galleons had been taken under the name of Harry Potter. Ripclaw had found this most troubling and had brought it to him. Harry quickly deduced that his 'Magical Guardian' Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore had been the one to withdraw the money without proper right. This added to the growing list of crimes the headmaster had committed.

This along with giving permission to multiple companies who wished to use his name to sell their products. Then there was the problem that it was him, who put up a ward around his relative's house which relocated all the owls who delivered messages to the Boy-Who-Lived. The location of the messages was currently unknown, but the Goblins were working on finding that location out.

That wasn't all Harry and Ripclaw had been up to.

They had also spent a lot of money in rebuilding all the ancestral homes of each of his titles. He also had Ripclaw buying out a lot of the shops in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Out of thirty-one shops in Diagon Alley, excluding Gringotts he owned a total of five and had shares in an additional six. In Knockturn Alley, out of the twenty-four shops that were still running, he owned three and had shares in eight other shops.

By the end of the year, Ripclaw guaranteed him that those shops would belong to him. When they did, the first step of his plan for the Magical World would be complete and he could begin stage two.

The biggest highlight of his week was when he got his custom wand. It was slightly curved and strong. A total of 10¼" with the basilisk tooth giving his wand a pointed end, with the gem embedded deeply into the side. A beautiful wand, just like his first wand given to him by Ollivander. Just so he didn't lose his custom wand, he had bought a wand holster and placed it on his left wrist, while his original was kept on his right.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The Hogwarts Express was as beautiful and as awe inspiring as he had heard. Luckily he had arrived early as he saw the huge crowd of wizards and witches watching their children leave for Hogwarts. The carriage he sat in was empty besides himself. In his hand he held a book, the Art of Occlumency. It was a gift from Ripclaw, as a sign of his appreciation for all the work he had been given.

It was by far the most interesting book of all those he had read. He had been reading it all morning and already he was enraptured by its words, reading past the first three chapters. The other ones he read only out of necessity, this had started off the same. After all, how could he bring about change in the world if his enemies knew his plans? Occlumency was the art of protecting one's mind from those who used Legilimency, which was the art of invading the mind.

The first chapter was all about organising your mind. Thankfully he already had that part down due to the abuse he suffered at the hands of his relatives. The second chapter was all about possible ways to avoid or break Legilimency attacks.

The best way was to avoid contact with the person trying to invade your mind. There were other methods, but all pointed out that avoiding eye contact was the best choice.

The third chapter was all about forcing out people from one's mind when avoiding eye contact was not an option. There were three ways to do this, the first was to stop thinking about anything, the second was to focus on a single memory over and over again and finally, to use pure magic and force of will to overpower the Legilimency user.

He was currently on the fourth and final chapter, this alone took up half the book. This chapter was all about creating defences. He already started making the foundations of his defences. A simple tower based off the Barad-dûr from J.R.R Tolkien's best seller, The Lord of the Rings. He had studied every detail of the tower and had rebuilt as best as he could. It had taken him a total of two hours to rebuild Barad-dûr. The tower was a rough copy, but like the book said it was best to break the reconstructions over and over again so that you can build them back stronger and better. Each time you can weed out weaknesses in the defences. However, the best way to test the defences of one's mind was to defend against a Legilimency attack.

Still, from what he had read it normally took years to get to the stage he was on. Yet, he was already at the fourth stage within two hours.

With a screech of the whistle and sudden jolt, the train was off and for the second time in a single month, Harry felt excited. Lowering his book, he watched as the landscape became that of rocky and grassy hills. It was fascinating to him as he had never left Privet Drive until he went to Diagon Alley.

Closing the book, he placed it on the open seat beside him and closed his eyes. Instantly he was inside his mind on the top of Barad-dûr. The rocks were smooth except for the odd piece or two here that would be rough and jagged.

Slowly he began to chip away at the structure of his magic, finding as many weak spots as he could. He found at least five, each marked with spider web cracks. Once he had roamed over every inch he dismantled the tower allowing his memories and emotions to flood him simultaneously. He remembered the first time he dismantled the tower, he had been completely overwhelmed by the emotions and memories. He had to quickly seal them away under lock and key.

Every time after that he had a single, large book wrapped in multiple chains and locks that were unlocked. So as soon as he dismantled the tower he funnelled all his emotions and memories into the book and locked it.

Building the tower, was much slower than breaking it, but thankfully this time round the tower was smooth all the way round. No jagged, or uneven rocks. Just a smooth surface. Each memory of his created a total of a hundred blocks of stone and the ominous green lights were made from a single memory; happiness. The extra memories and emotions still remained in the book for safe keeping.

"Excuse me." Opening his eyes, Harry saw a ginger kid with freckles peeping around the corner of the door. Instantly his mind showed him the information he required. A member of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Weasley. A poor family that had lost all their wealth when they lost a bet to the Malfoy family a century ago when the Malfoy family first came to being in the Magical World. They lost everything, except for their title as a Most Ancient House, however they had regained their Noble status due to their contribution in the Blood War against Lord Voldemort. "Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."

Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but quickly cooled his features. _'According to Hogwarts; A History, there are more than twenty carriages, each magically expanded to fit two hundred people each. There's no way that there aren't any other compartments free on this carriage, even then there are other carriages he could go to.'_ Harry thought incredulously. _'Either he's too lazy to search for any other compartment or Dumbledore sent him. The question is, which one?'_

It was well-known that the Weasley's were extremely loyal to Dumbledore, despite being of a higher status.

"Go ahead." He said after a few moments of silence. Smiling brightly, the Weasley sat down across from Harry and stared out the window for a few moments. Meanwhile, Harry slowly returned to his mind. He was trying to find a way to recreate the Eye of Sauron. Its main purpose would be to pinpoint any intruder, so that when he had created multiple defences they would know where to attack.

"I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley." Harry had to fight back a groan of annoyance as he lost concentration and the small orange ball he tried to shape into an eye exploded on him. Luckily it was not enough to destroy Barad-dûr, but enough to cause a few small cracks. Looks like he'd have to restart the tower again. It wouldn't do for there to be any weaknesses in his defences.

Opening his eyes, he put on a force smile.

"Hadrian James Potter." He introduced.

"So, you're friends with Weasley already, Potter?" A smooth and cultured voice spoke up. Looking to the compartment door they saw two young boys, the same age as them. The one that spoke had dark skin and short black hair. He had an easy-going smile on his face as he leaned casually against the doorway. The one slightly behind him was tall and lanky, he too had short dark hair but had very pale skin. It was obvious to both Ron and Harry that they were purebloods.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The compartment was slightly packed. Six of them in total, four girls and two boys. On one side were the Carrow twins, Hestia and Flora from the Ancient and Noble House of Carrow, beside them was the young Italian boy, Blaise Zabini from the Ancient and Most Noble House of Zabini. On the other side was Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis from the Ancient and Noble House of Davis. Last, but not least was Theodore Nott from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Nott.

The six of them were not exactly friends, but each had one thing in common, except for Theodore Nott. They were part of the Grey faction, or neutral faction as it was more commonly referred to.

Daphne was the eldest daughter and heir to the Greengrass family, which also happened to be the leader of the Neutral faction. Tracey was the daughter of the vassal house to the Greengrass family. The Carrow's and the Zabini's were also allies to the Greengrass family. The Nott's on the other hand were members of the Dark faction, however they were allied to the Greengrass family and would join the Neutral faction next year.

"So, anyone looking forwards to Hogwarts?" Tracey Davis asked excitedly. Every one of them had grown up together, only Daphne and Tracey becoming friends out of their group so each of them had known that out of them, Tracey was the most excitable of them all.

"No, not really." Hestia and Flora answered at the same time. Theodore, commonly known as Theo by Tracey and Blaise, simply looked up from his book and shrugged non-committedly.

"It will be interesting." Blaise said with a smirk. "What about you Daphne?"

"No, not really." The blonde answered simply.

"Daphne's lying." Tracey cut in, Daphne glared heatedly at her brunette friend.

"Oh, do tell." Blaise leaned forward curiously, as did everyone else. Daphne was never one to show interest in anything and those things she did, tended to be interesting to all of them.

"Tracey doesn't kn-"

"She met Harry Potter in Moribund's." Tracey blurted out, cutting off her friend.

"What was the Boy-Who-Lived doing in Knockturn Alley? I thought a Light wizard like him would never enter Knockturn Alley?" Theodore asked.

"He is no Light wizard, nor is he a Dark wizard." Daphne answered while glaring at Tracey telling her to keep her mouth shut. "He is a Grey wizard, he defends himself and was willing to threaten Moribund to show the fool his place." All the occupants of the compartment couldn't help but share smiles of amusement. It was well-known that Moribund was an oaf who had a knack for insulting people without realising. "He displayed great skill in magic as well."

"What type of magic?" Blaise asked. The Italian boy may appear laid back and disinterested, but he was observant, very observant, and loved to gain information on potential allies and enemies.

"A wandless and nonverbal levitation charm and Parseltongue." The last piece was even more shocking than the first. Wandless and nonverbal magic was very rare and unique, but Parseltongue was a legendary gift that appeared in the descendants of Salazar Slytherin. To see it appear in the Potter heir with no prior known connection to the line of Slytherin.

"Amazing." Hestia breathed out. Flora nodded beside her

"So, the Boy-Who-Lived is not as light as our parents thought?" Theodore asked.

"No. He's definitely a Grey." Daphne explained.

"But I thought the Potter's were a Light family?" Tracey questioned in confusion.

"That's a common misconception." Blaise answered. "The Potter's were a very, very secretive family. Not many people know about the history of the Potter's. People just assumed they were a Light family because they fought against Grindelwald and You-Know-Who. They were more Grey but fought against the Dark Lords because it was the right thing to do." Blaise stood up.

"Where are you off?" Tracey asked.

"I'm off to find the Boy-Who-Lived, I want to see for myself what he is like." He opened the compartment door and then looked to Theodore. "You comin Theo?"

"Yea sure." Shutting his book, he walked out after Blaise. "So, what do you really think of the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Dunno, he sounds very mysterious. I do love solving a good mystery." Blaise joked, gaining a smirk from Theodore. If either of the two had to call anyone in their group a friend, it would have to be the other.

"I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasley."

"Hadrian James Potter." Smirking at one another, Blaise opened the door and leaned against the side.

"So, you're friends with Weasley already, Potter?" Blaise asked. He watched as Harry and Ron looked at them. Both seemed to take into account what he said and had two very different reactions. Ron gave a very wide smile, while his chest puffed out in happiness. Harry simply gave him a deadpan stare. A stare that made his smirk widen.

"Hardly." The Weasley seemed to deflate at Harry's answer.

"Mind if we take a seat." Harry nodded his head.

"You shouldn't let them Harry, their parents were all snakes and they will be too." Raising an eyebrow, the three boys stared at Ron.

"And why should I care what house their parents are? And besides, since when did I say that you could choose who I can and can't talk with." The boy flushed an impressive shade of red making the three boys more than amused. "I am more than capable of choosing for myself who I will talk with."

"But you are the Boy-Who-Lived and they're just going to use you." Ron argued.

"And you're not?" Theodore shot back making Harry smirk along with Blaise.

"I-eh…" Rob opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out of his mouth except jumbled noises. Calming his amusement, Harry decided to spare Ron from anymore embarrassment.

"So why did you come here?"

"Our friend, Daphne Greengrass, told us she met you in a certain shop." Blaise wisely decided to keep the name of the shop hidden from certain prying ears. "We wanted to make our own evaluation of you." Smiling at the honest answer Harry nodded his head.

"And what has your evaluation come to then?"

"You're not what we expected." Theodore answered vaguely.

"Have you got the scar?!" Ron exclaimed completely out of nowhere. Instantly the temperature of the room dropped as Harry slowly turned to face Ron. His eyes glowed green as anything not tied down began to float into the air.

"What?" His voice was dangerously low as his mental defences began to crumble into dust.

"Y-you know, t-t-the scar." He shakily pointed to his forehead.

"Oh, that scar. The scar I gained as a symbol that I lived when my parents died. A constant reminder of their deaths. That scar?" Not once did he raise his voice and that made it more terrifying. "Get out Weasley. Get out before I kill you." Quickly Ron left the room followed entirely by the amused stare of Theodore. Blaise however, watched as Harry closed his eyes and centred his breathing. He instantly recognised what he was trying to do.

 _'Occlumency? You get more and more interesting by the minute, Potter.'_

When Harry's eyes opened, everything returned to normal.

"Well, that was interesting." Blaise said cheerfully after a few moments of silence. "Blaise Zabini." He held out a hand and Harry shook it. "The lanky prat over there is Theodore Nott, Theo for short."

"Hadrian James Potter, but you already know that." Harry said. The rest of the journey was done in silence.

 **A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed my attempt at a Harry Potter story. If you did please leave a review so I know what you think about it. Anyway, thanks again.**


	3. Sorting, Occlumency and Trolls

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 2**

 **WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.**

 **A/N: For those of you are wondering this is not a HarryxTheoxBlaise. I have nothing against gay people, but I don't feel comfortable writing a story like that. No they will be two of Harry's best friends. Hope this clears up any problems.**

 **I would also like to thank HPpureblood, 92, anarion87, mwinter1, oro03910, naruto, Guest, Zero Requiem98, Viktor Marshall, MarilynT, HungryHungryHippie, hunzbookwrym, TheGreatBubbaJ, smokey054life1, .90, The Howling Behemoth, TheFishKing, David305 and InfinityMask for your reviews.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§ _Parseltongue_ §_

 _"Sorting Hat inside the mind"_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The journey to Hogwarts had been done in silence after Ron Weasley had left. The three occupants, Harry Potter, Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott had nothing to say and no wish to speak. Each content to do something different. Theodore was reading a book, a book without a title. Blaise was enjoying the silence, his eyes looking out the window. Harry himself was once again in his mindscape, rebuilding the tower of Barad-dûr and also trying to recreate the Eye of Sauron.

The results were slow, more so than his tower. The tower had been the most simple as it was meant to be a defence against a brute force Legilimency attack. The Eye was to do three things. The first was to seek out any intruders, both subtle and not. The second was to organise his defences. It was to decide personally what would defences would be used and was to act subconsciously, until he took over. Its final function was to act as a final defence.

Slowly the train came to a stop and the three boys stopped what they were doing. Each were dressed in their school uniform. Moving out of their compartment they exited onto the Platform.

Hundreds of children, ranging from their first to the seventh year were doing the same as them.

"So where do we go from here?" Harry asked while looking at his two companions.

"Dunno. My mother never told me what happened, said it was a surprise." Blaise answered with a shrug. "What about you Theo?"

"Pretty much the same."

"First years! First years follow me!" A large booming voice sounded over the chatter of the students.

"Guess that answers our question." Blaise said. Snorting the three moved forwards, falling into line with the rest of first years they moved towards the lake shore. All around it where boats, from what Hogwarts: A History said they were charmed to move on their own.

They were at the back of the group and so had to make do with the only boat with a single person on it. He was short, chubby and had blonde hair. He looked very nervous and timid, clutching tightly onto the toad in his hand as if it would disappear at any moment. The boy jumped as soon as he felt the boat rock.

Theodore and Blaise chuckled in amusment, while Harry spared him a pity filled glance.

"Sorry about that." He apologised sheepishly

"N-no its okay." The boy reassured quickly. Harry frowned slightly, the boy was far too timid. Would he have turned out like that if he hadn't gained his freedom? "I-I'm Neville Longbottom." The las part of his name was a whisper, it was obvious to the three of them that the last name was not something he was proud of.

"You should take more pride in your name, the Longbottom's are one of the few Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses left in Magical Britain." Theodore stated causing the boy to blush.

"He's right you know." Harry said afterwards, stopping Neville becoming reclusive. He knew the signs, he was once the same. "The Longbottom's are descended from a group of Viking raiders that came to England to plunder, but were defeated by my family and made England their home. You are even descended from legendary Viking warriors such as Ragnar Lodbrok, Bjorn Ironside and Ivar the Boneless. The Longbottom's are part of elite group of Wizarding families called the Seven Warlords. Only the most powerful families could be members of this elite group because they were once the seven ruling families of Magical Britain." Harry informed. "You're also allies to my family, the Potters."

T-then you're…" Neville mumbled out with wide eyes.

"Yea, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, but please call me Harry. I hate my moniker." Hesitantly Neville nodded his head, his eyes slowly glancing up to his forehead. Unlike the Weasley boy, Neville had the manners not to ask.

"Aren't you meant to be a Squib?" Blaise sked curiously.

"Yea, my grandma thought I was a Squib when I didn't show any signs of accidental magic." He was shy and full of shame in the way he spoke. Once again a sign of not having a relatively good home life.

"She's stupid then." Harry bluntly cut in. Blaise instantly burst out laughing, while Theodore chuckled in amusment. Even Neville cracked a smile.

"You, you have to be a Gryffindor to say that about Augusta Longbottom." Blaise said through fits of laughter. Augusta was the only one to ever openly oppose both Dumbledore, the dark faction and the neutral faction. However, neither had taken any action as she was well-known for her fearsome reputation of dealing with her enemies quietly and quickly. No one dared get on her bad side, and those that did tended to constantly look over their shoulder for the rest of their lives.

"Mind yer 'eads!" Hagrid shouted while stood on his boat. Many first years shrieked and ducked. In fact, the only one that didn't was the people on their boat, though Neville didn't bow only because the other three didn't.

When they came out from underneath the low hanging rock face they saw Hogwarts in all its splendour. Truly, it was a magnificent sight. With its high towers and the lights that illuminated the sheer size of it all. Harry had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life.

"Now I see why she didn't tell me." Blaise whispered. The other three nodded in agreement. To tell the child what they were to expect would have been a travesty.

When they came to a bottom of the hill, they piled up onto a small dockyard area. It was a tight fit, but they only had to wait before a stern looking witch appeared. She stared at them all, judging each and every one of them.

"Follow me." She ordered and turned on her heel. All around him, Harry watched as Hogwarts went by, he could feel its magic saturating him. Just by being here he felt more alive than he had ever felt before. His eyes then slowly drifted to the stern witch leading their little procession. She moved with grace and her magic was barely non-existent. It was completely different to the students surrounding. Even his control paled in comparison to hers.

After a few minutes of walking they came to a stop outside two very large doors. The stern witch stood before them and faced each of them.

"Wait here, when I come back you shall be escorted into the Great Hall where you will then be sorted into each of the four houses." The stern witch said before disappearing behind the door.

"So, I heard Harry Potter is here amongst us." A snobby voice broke the small silence. All heads turned to face the owner of the voice to see a boy with sharp, pointed features, sleek white-blonde hair and grey eyes that looked down upon every person present. "Where is he?"

"He's right there." Ron Weasley pointed at Harry. Instantly all eyes changed from the blonde boy, to the Boy-Who-Lived. Each held a gaze of wonderment and awe as they beheld their idol.

"Ah, so you're the famous Boy-Who-Lived." Draco strutted forwards his held high with pride and he sneered at anyone who got too close to him. Once he was in front of Harry he took into account that Blaise, Theodore and Neville stood nearby. "My name is Draco Malfoy of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy. You'd do well to make friends with people matching your station." It was obvious he tried to make his 'proposal' of friendship very appealing, but sadly he failed miserably.

Grasping Draco's opened hand he shook it and leant forward.

"I am, Draco Malfoy of the _Ancient and Noble House_ of Malfoy." He whispered, pulling away he smirked at the flushed face of the young Malfoy heir. Luckily for the boy no one could hear what he said, but the way Draco clenched his fists tightly it was obvious Harry had angered him. "I can make my own friends, thank you very much."

"That will be quite enough." The voice of the same stern witch spoke up, breaking the tension. "My name is Professor McGonagall, I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House and the Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. You will pass through these doors and be sorted into your respective houses, they are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. When you are sorted you will become part of the competition for the House Cup. You will gain points by doing good deeds and following the rules. However, you will lose points if you break any rules." Professor McGonagall explained.

Turning around she opened the doors and strolled into the room. The first years followed afterward, each of them nervous ad shy as hundreds of eyes regarded them with curiosity.

"There looking for you, you know." Theodore whispered from beside him. Harry observed the people more closely and saw that they were in fact, looking for someone in particular. Honestly, the wizards and witches of Magical Britain had no tact. His eyes strayed to the table of green and silver to see that they only spared the first years a glance before turning away. It seems some had tact after all.

"You can say that again." Neville piped up, his voice lacked the stutter that each of his sentences normally did. "I wish they'd stop staring."

 _'It seems Neville is already beginning to change. With enough time he would be a valuable ally, especially with the amount of magic I can sense hidden away in him.'_ Harry smirked at Neville. "Me too Neville, me too."

Soon they came to a stop before the steps that lead to the High Table. Before them though was a single stool with a raggedy hat on top. As time passed the first years began to grow more nervous, before they suddenly gave a jump of shock as the hat began to sing.

 _"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,_

 _But don't judge on what you see,_

 _I'll eat myself if you can find_

 _A smarter hat than me._

 _You can keep your bowlers black,_

 _You're top hats sleek and tall,_

 _For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

 _And I can cap them all._

 _There's nothing hidden in your head,_

 _The Sorting Hat can't see,_

 _So try me on and I will tell you_

 _Where you ought to be._

 _You might belong in Gryffindor,_

 _Where dwell the brave at heart,_

 _Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

 _Set Gryffindor's apart;_

 _You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

 _Where they are just and loyal,_

 _Those patient Hufflepuff are true_

 _And unafraid of toil;_

 _Or yet in wise old Raven_ _claw,_

 _if you've a ready mind,_

 _Where those of wit and learning,_

 _Will always find their kind;_

 _Or perhaps in Slytherin,_

 _You'll make your real friends,_

 _Those cunning folk use any means_

 _To achieve their ends._

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

 _And don't get in a flap!_

 _You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

 _For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

Harry couldn't help himself, nor could any of the first years. They burst into a round of applause with the rest of the student body and the teachers. Though, those that had seen it were far more subdued.

"Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words." Behind her, the man in question rose to his feet.

"I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note," he leaned forward staring at the students in question. "That the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also our caretaker, Mr Filch has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds, to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you." Harry snorted in amusment, an act that did not go unnoticed by his three companions.

"When I call your name, you will come up, sit on the stool, and wait for your house to be called." Professor McGonagall instructed. "First up, Abbot, Hannah." Named were called, one after the other, from A-L. "Longbottom, Neville." Hesitantly the boy walked forwards, sitting down upon the stool.

 _"Well I do say, you are a difficult one. Brave, oh yes though only when you need to be. A desire to kill as well, oh I can sense that as well."_ The Sorting Hat spoke from within his mind, jumping slightly he looked around. _"Calm down, I am in your head, simply think what you wish to say."_

 _'K-kill. I couldn't kill.'_ Neville argued.

 _"Not even, Bellatrix Lestrange."_ The hat pressed instantly silencing Neville. _"Oh yes dear boy, I know you better than you know yourself. But that is not why where here, no we are here to see which house you would suit best. You have traits that Godric would have been proud of, but your loyalty to your friends is admirable. So it best be,_ HUFFLEPUFF!" It exclaimed out loud causing the Hufflepuff table to burst into applause.

Moving towards the table he spared Harry a glance, to see him give a nod in return. With renewed pride, Neville moved towards the Hufflepuff table and took a seat.

Blaise watched the interaction and smirked in amusment. Daphne did forget to mention one thing about the enigma that was Potter, he had charisma. Even without speaking he exuded this aura that drew you to him. That and the power he had at his disposal was well-known to those that looked for it. Looking to Theodore they both nodded their heads. Harry Potter would be a powerful political figure and their families would do best if they created a bond with what would become the rising power of House Potter.

"Nott, Theodore." The hat had barely been on his head for a few seconds before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" The table in question politely clapped their hands together. "Potter, Hadrian." Instantly the Great Hall went quiet. Everyone snapped to attention as they looked at the young boy who strolled forwards.

"Is that him?"

"Wow, he's really cute."

"I can't believe it's really him!"

These were but a few of the sentences he managed to hear from the jumbled mess that was the chatter of the Great Hall. He ignored it all and sat down on the chair.

 _"My, my, your defences are very skilled for a child of your age."_ The Sorting Hat praised. Instantly he clamped down on his mind, slowly pushing away the intruder from his more private memories. _"There's no need for that, Mr Potter. I have already seen your memories. If you're worried about me sharing your plans and secrets with your enemies then be worried no more. The Four Founders made it impossible for me to share any secrets of the students with anyone."_ Slowly, Harry relaxed the pressure on his mind.

 _'How long will this take?'_ Harry inquired.

 _"It depends, some like your acquaintance Mr Nott were very easy to sort however, and Mr Longbottom on the other hand was much harder to sort."_

 _'And what about me?'_

 _"You are very easy, more so than Mr Longbottom, but much more difficult than Mr Nott. You have traits from all four houses. You are brave, but only when it suits your needs. You are loyal to those your trust, but do not trust easily. You have a desire for knowledge, but only so you can use it against your enemies. However, above all, you have cunning and ambition more so than any other trait you possess. So it better be,_ SLYTHERIN!"

Taking the hat off his head and placing it on the stool, he walked towards the Slytherin table where only a few were capable of clapping their hands. Sitting down beside Theodore he looked at the High Table. His eyes roaming over each teacher. The Headmaster continued to smile benevolently at him, the half-giant looked at him shock as did a few other professors.

Moments passed of complete silence, then Professor McGonagall continued calling out the names of the first years. Many students turned their attention away from him, while some continued to study him.

He paid them no heed. Instead focusing on the dwindling group of first years. Slowly, more and more of the first years were sorted into the four houses until only Blaise remained. The brown skinned boy sat down and just like with Theodore, it instantly declared him as a Slytherin.

"The very best of welcome to you!" Professor Dumbledore announced as he stood from his chair. Those few students that had been talking, quickly quietened down. "Now… to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." He sat down. Harry turned back around and stared at the large amount of food laid out before him.

"Is he mad?" Harry asked.

"Mad?" Blaise questioned, before looking at Dumbledore. They all took in the colour of his robes. "I guess, you have to be to wear robes of that colour. Ghastly." He turned his nose up in disgust gaining chuckles of amusment from Theodore and Harry.

"All powerful men and women are a bit mad. Each show it in different ways, but it's there." Theodore elaborated.

"Power come with a price. It's a burden. It demands sacrifice." Harry whispered. Theodore and Blaise looked at him in curiosity. "It's a quote spoken by a muggle called, Drew Karpyshyn." He explained. Reaching forward he began placing food on his plate.

"The muggles are just a bunch of barbarians." Blaise sneered. "Nothing but bugs for us to crush." Swallowing some food, Harry turned to look at Blaise with a raised eyebrow.

"That's very arrogant of you. True, muggles were once barbarians, but they are no longer that way. They are civilised and have mad advances in all types of science. Making weapons that can move faster than you can think." Placing his knife and fork on the table he turned to face Blaise. "Look at me." Blaise did so and watched as Harry blinked his eyes. "You'd be dead now."

"W-what?" Blaise stuttered. Behind Harry, Theodore smirked in amusment at seeing Blaise stutter. He was never one to do so, but seeing it was so very amusing.

"Muggles have created a weapon that could shot a piece of metal so fast, that as soon as you blink it would hit you." Of course, it was nowhere near that fast as there was multiple factors to take into account but he didn't need to know that. "Not only that, but in the previous war they also created a weapon so powerful that it could wipe a city from the face of the earth in an instant. So don't go dismissing the muggles so easily."

"I…will try not to." It was obvious to Harry and Theodore that Blaise was completely shocked into silence.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

They hadn't stayed in the Great Hall much longer after that. Instead making their way to the common room, the Head Boy and Girl leading them. The entrance to the common room was only opened by a password that changed every fortnight. The password itself was, 'ambition.' An obvious password as it was one of the parts that made a Slytherin a Slytherin. It showed how little common sense wizards had. If all wizards were like this it showed why they had to hide from muggles.

The common room itself was dungeon like in its layout with greenish lamps and chairs. Sofas were black and green, button-tuffed leather. There were some skulls, wooden cupboards and snakes decorating the room.

The first years were pushed into the centre of the room, around them were the upper years. It was quite easy to tell which students were in which year, not just because of the way they looked, but of because the places they sat. Near the centre of the common room were the second years, the further out they went the higher the year. Obviously, it was meant to show the lower years their position.

Many of the first years moved with nervousness while some, himself, Theodore, Blaise, Draco and Daphne moved with an air of confidence.

Once seated in the centre of the room they looked around. Then the entrance to the common room opened and in came their Head of House, Professor Snape. He strolled forwards with his head held high and his cape flaring out behind him. It was impressive, very impressive.

"Welcome, I am Professor Severus Snape." He said simply, his eyes baring deeply into the first years. More specifically Harry. "We are the noble house of Slytherin, we are cunning and ambitious, not the brave and reckless like the Gryffindor's. If you have any problems with another member of this house, you solve it here, in this room. Outside we represent a united front." With that he strolled out.

The Head Boy moved forward next, taking the position of the Head of Slytherin house.

"I'm Jackson Winchester, Head Prefect for Slytherin house." He paused. "Each year has a single leader. If you wish to become the leader you must have more votes than your competitors. When you gain leadership you will have complete control over the rest of the people in your year. However, you must obey the leaders of the upper years, though if you wish you can choose to go against them." Here he smirked at the first years gaining more than a few nervous looks. "Two things be aware of is this. If you permanently injure or kill another competitor you will be automatically disqualified. Second, the Prefects and the Quidditch team are outside any leader's jurisdiction, any attempt to do so will see you immediately removed from leadership."

Harry looked at the first years around him. His eyes searching for any competition. Instantly he noticed that Draco seemed to be confident, if his cocky smirk was anything to go by. The boy was a fool, but he was the worst type of fool; a fool with a title. He would be quite easy to outthink and manoeuvre.

Turning around, Harry made his way towards the stairway to the dorm rooms. He planned to familiarise himself with his room and also work on his Occlumency. He was so close to recreating the eye of Sauron.

"What has the great house of Slytherin come to when we have a half-blood, blood traitor among our midst?" The pompous voice of Draco Malfoy spoke up just as he reached the steps. Turning around he looked to see that some of the nearby members had stopped to see the confrontation between Heir Malfoy and the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Were you talking about me, Malfoy?" Harry asked innocently.

"I am."

"Thank you for your kind words." With that, Harry turned around and made his way back up the stairs followed by the amused gazes of those that had been listening. Before he even got up three stairs, Malfoy spoke up once more.

"How dare you turn your back on the heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy?!" He seethed at the insult shown to him by someone he believed to be 'beneath' him.

"Are we really doing this again?" He asked incredulously to the Malfoy heir. Turning to Theodore he asked him a question. "Theodore, how long have the Malfoy's been around?"

"A century and a bit." Theodore smirked as he realised what Harry was doing.

"And how long must a family be around for, before it can be considered a Most Ancient house?"

"Three centuries." Nodding his head, Harry turned to face Blaise who seemed to be completely amused by the coming events. Behind him he could make out the inquiring and mirth filled gazes of every one in Slytherin.

"And have the Malfoy's done anything of great historical value, besides of course, been _under_ the Imperious curse." The mocking tone he used got more than a few chuckles. "Of course, by being under the Imperious curse you can't claim any rewards or punishments. So correct me if I'm wrong, but the Malfoy's have done nothing else of worth."

"Not that I'm aware of." Blaise answered.

"That's twice Malfoy that you have falsely claimed a title that doesn't belong to you. If there is a third, I will be bringing this up with the Goblins, they will give your family the punishment that belongs to you." Harry smirked at the already pale face of Draco, growing paler.

With that, Harry turned on his heel and left for his room.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next morning, he woke up early. Quickly getting changed and going for a quick jog down to the Black Lake and then back to his room. When he arrived back in his dorm he saw that Blaise and Theodore were still not awake. So he used this time to focus on his Occlumency shields.

After putting Draco in his place he had spent the remainder of his time on recreating the Eye of Sauron. Blaise and Theodore were nowhere to be seen. He was thankful for this as he managed to get the eye to work. Of course it had taken him well over three hours of constant frustration. But he had done it.

This morning he was working on building some extra defences. The first was a large mountain range that surrounded the tower of Barad-dûr made from his desire to stay true to himself. It was quite easy to build them up to a necessary height.

There were four entrances, each were built up by a rough defence. The outer entrance had the Black Gate and behind it would be another building, then behind that would be another and behind that would be another. He had no time to focus on the rest so he instead created something similar to an Avalanche to block off the remaining entrances. Weak they were but it would provide him enough time to properly defend his mind from any intruder.

"Oi Harry, wake up." This was the reason why he had no time to focus on the other defences. Opening his eyes, Harry looked up to see Blaise nudging him awake. Upon seeing him awake, Blaise stopped. "Get changed quickly, we have to go down for breakfast."

Once again he found himself back in the Great Hall. Theodore sat across from him, with Blaise on his right hand side.

"You know, Draco will tell his father about what you did." Blaise finally spoke up.

"I know, but there's nothing he can do about it. The Goblins can't be bought or bribed. They know that if what I do is true they can take all the money that the Malfoy's have and I doubt that Lord Malfoy will give the Goblins all his money to save his skin." Harry explained. "So, do either of you plan to become leader of our year?"

"Nah, too much effort." Blaise said.

"No, Draco is already running for it. My father wants me to get on the good side of the Malfoy's or at least stay neutral unless I find a better person to ally our house with." Theodore said.

"What about you?"

"I thought I made it obvious." Harry replied to Blaise's question. "Malfoy tried to show me my _place_. If he did the rest of our year would have voted for him as the Boy-Who-Lived is beneath him. It was a far too Gryffindorish move and I simply used a Slytherin one to return it back to him. Now it's his turn to make a move. If he fails again his power base will suffer."

"I doubt it." Theodore said once more. Seeing the curious looks he elaborated further. "Draco's power base is not limited to just Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Graham Montague and Peter Pike. He also has the Quidditch team on his side as Marcus Flint is on his father's pay role."

"Well, that makes things difficult." Harry said after a few moments of silence. "And who do you two support so far?"

"No one, but if you manage to perhaps, take away the Quidditch team from Draco. We could be convinced." It was Blaise who answered the question. Nodding his head, Harry looked towards Draco Malfoy who was currently conversing with his group of goons. A little ways down from them was another group of first year Slytherin's, three of them he didn't know, but one he recognised as been Daphne Greengrass. She must have felt his eyes on him because she turned to look at him.

"Potter." Turning away from the piercing gaze of the Greengrass heiress, he looked into the beading eyes of Professor Snape. As soon as his eyes locked onto the man's, he felt something brush against the Black Gate. Instantly his Eye of Sauron locked onto the shadowy figure and slowly the invader drew back.

Neither Potter nor Snape said a word, but both knew what happened. Passing over a slip of paper he spoke up.

"The Headmaster would like to see you after you're finished, Potter. Today, he seems to fancy Acid Pops." That was all Snape said before he left to hand out the rest of the timetables.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

He had not gone down to the Great Hall to eat breakfast, instead he sat in his office thinking of how things had changed.

Harry Potter was meant to be a timid and meek little boy which would follow his orders without question. That would be thanks to Hagrid who would help him collect his things from Diagon Alley and then the Weasley's that would help him get on the train. Things had not gone to plan.

Harry had gone to Diagon Alley and had obviously been made aware of his lordship as the Goblins had not allowed him access to the Potter Trust Vault under the orders of the heir of the Potter family. Then Molly had not found Harry at Platform 9¾. Luckily Ron Weasley had found him on the train and had tried to make friends with him only to be rebuffed by the arrival of Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. The young Weasley had tried to play the victim, but a quick scan of his mind showed that it was the boy who insulted Harry.

He shook his head at the idiocy shown by Ronald. The boy was a disappointment.

He had of course continued to believe it was just circumstances that gave Harry his bit of power. But when he saw the boy, it proved that Harry did not turn out like he had hoped. The boy was confident, charisma and a level of power that was shocking for a boy his age.

He had raw power that matched that of a fifth year, but control over it that matched a fourth year. Nothing that would cause him or Voldermort any trouble, but enough to prove that the boy would be extremely powerful. Then there was the fact Harry had half of his magical bound. To be that powerful with his core bound was astounding.

So far the changes in the boy were worrying. He wasn't a boy that would be willing to sacrifice, it seems he'd have to take steps to make sure that the part of Voldemort's soul inside the boy was destroyed.

A knock on the door alerted him to someone outside.

"Come in." The door opened and in came the cause of his current predicament, Harry Potter. "Ah my boy, have a seat." He indicated to the seat across from him. The boy took it, only sparing a glance in Fawkes direction. That was odd, normally children stared at Fawkes in wonder and awe. "Lemon Drop?"

"No thank you, Professor." Harry shook his head. "Can I ask why I'm here?"

"Of course my boy." Dumbledore quickly answered. "Of course. I was wondering on how you are finding life in the magical world? I'm sure it must be very difficult for you to comprehend everything?"

"I'm really enjoying it so far, though it is quite different to the muggle world." Harry began. "Why?"

"No reason, just trying to satisfy this old man's curiosity." Dumbledore assured, he however quickly sent out a mental probe to skim the boys mind. He was shocked to find the boy's mind already well protected by Occlumency shields. He recognised the structures from a muggle book called Lord of the Rings. He had always loved muggle books compared to wizarding books. They were much more interesting to read.

His probe was instantly illuminated by an orange glow followed by a large amount of magical power that expelled him from the young Potter's mind.

Instantly he found himself on the receiving end of an emerald green glare. Behind them he could see the magic swirling around inside of him angrily. Giving a cough he placed a lemon drop inside his mouth. The calming drought he had placed inside the lemon drop instantly giving a sense of weightlessness.

"Forgive me, my boy. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Professor." Harry ground out. Twice today he had found his mind assaulted. If it wasn't for his skills in Occlumency he would have had his secrets found out. Even then he had no doubt if they really tried to learn all of his secrets they would have done and he would have been helpless to stop them.

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed slightly, the twinkle in them dwindling. But it soon returned.

"Yes, yes it did. I shall try not to make the same mistake again. Can you forgive this old man?" Harry nodded his head stiffly and Dumbledore knew he needed to do something to salvage this situation. Perhaps, relieving the boy of his burden of managing the Potter Vaults and allowing him to instead focus on the wonder of magic. This benefited both parties. "I was wondering my boy. If you would like me to manage your vaults to allow you more time to focus on the wonders of magic?" He smiled brightly and the twinkle in his eyes became blinding.

"No." Giving a cough, Dumbledore looked into the eyes the same shade as the Killing Curse. It was unnerving how alike the two colours were.

"E-excuse me?"

"I said no, Professor." Harry said calmly.

"My boy, surely you must realise that the burden of your vaults will impair you from your studies." Dumbledore tried to reason.

"I am fine." Standing up he looked at Professor Dumbledore. "If that is all, Headmaster?" Dumbledore nodded his head and Harry left the room. All the while Dumbledore looked at the door he left through.

Fawkes trilled, once again calming him. Stroking the phoenix's feathers he began thinking of new plans that would still result in him creating the world he had always dreamed of.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

His first three weeks had gone by without much of a hitch. He had quickly established himself a prodigy in the art of magic. He excelled in Transfiguration, Charms, DADA and Potions. Each of the teachers those subjects sung praises of him, except for Professor Snape who only seemed to tolerate him.

He didn't know why, but for some reason Snape seemed to hate him.

His other lessons, Herbology, History of Magic and Astronomy had proven to be the more boring subjects. He was at the top of the class in Astronomy, joint top in History of Magic with the muggleborn Hermione Granger, he was second in Herbology with Neville been at the top.

His first flying lesson had been quite interesting and very amusing. Especially when Madam Hooch corrected the flying grips of Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley after they had claimed to have been flying ever since they were young.

Not only that but the battle between Draco and Harry had come to a standstill with every attempt Draco had made to prove his power been rebuffed. It was obvious that no one in Slytherin in house knew who would win, but it was obvious that Harry was more Slytherin like. Draco was much like a Gryffindor, constantly instigating attacks, however Harry was like a Slytherin. Waiting for the enemy to get to close and then attack.

It was early afternoon, Blaise and Theodore were currently talking with some childhood acquaintances. The common room was empty except for a few students. He himself was focused on the seventh year, Marcus Flint who should have already left Hogwarts but was held back.

"Hello Marcus." Harry asked causing the seventh year Quidditch captain to look at him.

"What do you want, Potter?" Marcus growled out.

"I was wondering why you are working for a pompous brat like Malfoy?" Despite himself Marcus gave a snort of amusment. It had become well-known to everyone in Slytherin that without his father, Draco was nothing. "Let me rephrase that. How much is Lucius paying you?"

"Ten galleons." Marcus said, Harry internally rolled his eyes at the idiocy shown by the seventh year. No wonder he had to repeat his last year of education.

"What would it take you to work for me instead?"

"I ain't working for you, Potter no matter what you offer me." Marcus argued.

"Not even if I offer to double what Lucius is paying you, help you pass this year's exams and even offer you a job when you leave Hogwarts?" Marcus seemed to contemplate the offer for a few moments before nodding his head.

"You better hold out on your deal, Potter." Marcus threatened, Harry simply waved off the threat with a wave of his hand.

"I will do, just continue to work for Malfoy until I'm ready." With that, Harry turned and left for his first lesson. His mind alight with his next plan. With the Quidditch team working for him, Blaise and Theodore would follow. This would give him the audience he need with the Greengrass heiress. If he successful convinced her to support him, so would the Carrow twins and Davis heiress.

His powerbase would then match Draco's, with the Quidditch team working for him his powerbase outmatched his. All he needed to do was convince Greengrass.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Charms was one of his favourite lessons in Hogwarts. The teacher was also one of his favourite as well, right up there with Professor McGonagall. The two knew exactly what they were doing and had a Mastery in their respective subjects. However, Professor Flitwick had the most of his respect because he was once a Duelling champion.

Right now they were currently working the levitation charm, pronounced Wingardium Leviosa and was created by Jarleth Hobart. He however, could already do this wandlessly and non-verbally.

So he found himself studying how the other students. Blaise and Theodore had only managed to make the hollow shaft of the feather to rise up. That was about the average amount of progress any had made. Further away he could see the muggleborn, Hermione Granger arguing with Ronald Weasley. The boy had become an annoyance, spreading rumours that he was a Dark wizard. Only his friends Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas believed him. Everyone else simply ignored him. However, that didn't make him any less annoying as he constantly tried to cause confrontations between them. Contrary to this, Harry continued to ignore him.

"You're doing it wrong." Harry said after watching Blaise and Theodore try and continue to fail at getting levitation charm to work.

"How did you do it then?" Blaise snapped, his frustration getting the better of him. It was something else Harry had learnt about Blaise. He didn't mind appearing average, but he hated failing to do something. Theodore was much more patient though and was willing to wait for hours trying to get something down.

"Magic requires three things. Will, intent and imagination however, intent is not exactly required." Harry said calmly while staring intently at the feather. "You have to will something to happen, you have to desire it because magic responds to your will. You must be determined to do something or else it will not happen. And finally, you have to imagine something happening. In this case you must imagine the feather rising, then will your magic to do exactly that." The feather slowly rose up into the air till it touched the roof before Harry lowered it back to the ground.

"Well done Mr Potter, well done. Ten points to Slytherin." Professor Flitwick was practically bursting with excitement.

Feeling someone's gaze on him he looked down to see Hermione glaring at him. He smirked at her. She was very amusing, constantly trying to outdo him. It was very interesting as in the muggle primary school he had been unmatched by anyone. However, in Hogwarts he had someone who could match him in the theory side of magic, in the practical side he was unmatched.

Turning to Blaise with a smirk he said, "There, nothing to it."

"Whatever, smartass." Blaise shot back.

"Kinda hard not to be a smartass when you're talking to a dumbass." Theodore joined in. The quick and witty answer from the normally quiet boy caused him to give a quiet chuckle of amusment.

"Shut up Theo." Blaise growled. Chuckling in amusment, Theodore turned to Harry.

"Have you made any move yet?" The moves he was on about, was the current power struggle between Harry and Draco.

"As a matter of fact. I have." Harry answered. "Marcus Flint now works for me. So, any change of heart about your decision in supporting me?"

"Well, we did say that once you have the Quidditch team working for you, that we would support you. Now that you have Marcus working for you, you have our support." Theodore assured with Blaise nodding his head.

"I need-"

"Yea, yea, we'll get you a meeting with Daphne." Harry nodded his head in thanks. Daphne was well protected by all the upper years that were members of the neutral faction. Especially since the older Slytherin boys in the Dark faction were not against forcing themselves on young girls like Daphne.

Nodding his head in thanks, Harry watched as Hermione unknowingly insulted Ron. Seeing this he felt a sense of anger. Ron was just like his cousin Dudley, he hated his cousin. Seething with anger, Harry watched Hermione nearly burst into tears.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It was the Halloween feast that night and Harry didn't feel up to celebrating like the rest of the student body. Thankfully he wasn't the only one. Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom also sat around a small table in the library as the rest of the Hogwart students were in the Great Hall.

They weren't saying anything they hadn't been for the past six hours, instead the three war orphans were sat around doing their own thing. Susan Bones was reading up on law, apparently she would like to be a judge. He found it quite fitting. Her aunt would catch Dark wizards and she would imprison them. Neville himself was reading up on Herbology, he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he seemed to love plants and their many uses.

Harry once again found him working on his Occlumency shields, while also reading up on multiple books about Duelling. If he was to compete in the tournament he would need to know all the rules and forms.

His Occlumency shields were also coming along nicely. The Black Gate was finished and was also very strong. The first line of defence was much like one of Dudley's old toys. A ship in a bottle, but instead it was a world in a bottle. There was a shelf filled with seven different worlds. Six of which were fake ad the seventh was his actual mind, the other six were made entirely of a separate entity that inhabited his body. He had not figured out what it was, but whatever it was, it was sentient enough for him to manipulate it.

The more he split it, the weaker it became and the stronger he felt. He had tied to split it a seventh time, but it had made him feel weak as well.

If the intruder managed to find which bottled contained his mind they would be forced to travel through a thick fog that surrounds a forest. The fog itself was very thick to the point you could barely see a foot in front of you and inside the fog he planned to have a multitude of creatures, ranging from Minotaur's, Acromantula, Werewolves, Manticore's and Centaur's. Then he planned to also have a multitude of magical plants such as, Devil's Snare, Venomous Tentacula and trees like the Whomping Willow.

If the intruder managed to get through this defence, he would reach a large lake. One hundred metres in width and separated the fog from the rest of his mind, except for a single deep abyss that was across from the Black Gate. Inside the lake there would be Grindylow's, Krakens, Horned Serpents and the Merpeople.

The thing that made this part so great was the fact that the intruder would have to cross a single bridge. A bridge that went over not a lake, but the abyss. It was based off the bridge of Khazad-dûm, and just like in the books at the bottom of the bridge would be the Balrog.

Then came the mountain range. The first entrance would be guarded by the Black Gate that would be manned by Vampires and Orcs. Behind that would be Minas Morgul, with the Nazgûl and their Fellbeasts, half-bird, half-dragon. The third line of defence would be Helm's Deep that would be guarded by Elves. Then the final line of defence, the Lonely Mountain also known as Erebor. And like in the books written by J.R.R Tolkien, it would be guarded by the Dragon Smaug.

Then in the centre of it all. Is Barad-dûr and the Eye of Sauron. So far he had not managed to create any of the creatures, but the structures had all been completed. Neither anywhere as great as been described in the books, but Harry had to start somewhere.

Normally, Harry would have spent his time studying more about physical magic, and not mental magic. However, Dumbledore and Snape's willingness to invade his mind had brought to light that if he was to go far in this world he would need to first keep his plans secret. That didn't mean he would slack on his training. No, now that he had got the structures down he could spend more time training his magic, while only dedicating an hour a night to improve his Occlumency.

Releasing a deep breath, Harry opened his eyes to see that only Neville remained at their table.

"Where's Susan?" Harry inquired. Neville looked up from his book allowing Harry to see that the shy boy Neville was when he first came to Hogwarts was gone. Instead he was replaced by a confident heir of the Longbottom family.

"She's going back to the Hufflepuff dorm room, I think." Neville answered.

"Fancy getting something to eat?" Neville nodded his head and the two made their way back towards the Great Hall, hopefully most of the students will have cleared out by now. Before they even made it towards the Grand Staircase they heard a scream. Quickly their heads snapped into the origination of the scream.

 _§Balthazar, find where the sssscream came from._ _§_ His snake familiar came out of his sleeve and quickly slithered in the direction of the nearby girl's bathroom. They followed Balthazar until they smelt an awful stench.

Balthazar continued on into the bathroom and they followed. What they found was shocking. A Troll holding a club, standing tall over Hermione Granger and Susan Bones.

"Harry we've got to help them."

"I know, distract it while I get them out of the way." Nodding his head, Neville took out his wand and concentrated his magic.

 _"Flipendo."_ The knockback jinx flew forwards and didn't even hit the target like he had hoped. It was just like every time he practised the spell. The spell lost all the magic and it disappeared before it could do anything. He watched as the Troll raised its club in the air. _"Flipendo. Flipendo! Flipendo! FLIPENDO!"_ Four different times he tried the spell, and on the last one he fired the spell. It veered off course, but luckily it hit the club that nearly crushed Susan and Hermione causing it to also go off course and strike the ground behind it.

Harry meanwhile, thrust out his hands and tugged them back. Instantly Hermione ad Susan flew from their position right towards him. Grunting he fell to the ground as they collided against him.

"Neville!" The boy looked at him, his eyes wide in shock at what he managed to do. "Get them out of here!" The boy nodded his head and the three quickly left the room. _"Fumos."_ A large amount of smoke came from the wand given to him by Ollivander. Seeing that the Troll was distracted, he too left to join the three outside.

"Bloody hell, how did a Troll get in here?!" Neville exclaimed.

"It shouldn't be able to, Hogwarts: A History said that there wards put up to stop magical creatures from getting into Hogwarts." Hermione answered.

"Yea, well obviously they don't work anymore." Susan snapped back, no one could blame her though. She had nearly died.

"We should move away from here. The smokescreen I just created won't keep it occupied for long." The other three nodded their head and turned to leave, only to find the Troll had somehow stumbled out into the corridor. "Neville, take them and find the Professors."

"Mate, you can't be serious." Neville argued.

"Just go Neville." The boy shared one last glance between him and the Troll before taking Hermione and Susan. It was obvious that Neville wasn't happy about been forced to abandon him, it went against everything he stood for. He was a Hufflepuff and descended from Vikings, they protected their friends more fiercely than any other.

Turning to face the Troll, he prepared himself.

 _§Balthazar, return._ _§_ With his snake familiar securely in his sleeve once more, Harry raised his wand and readied his magic. _"Melofors! Flipendo! Depulso! Depulso"_ The three spells worked in tandem. The first covering the Troll's head with a pumpkin, temporarily blinding him. The second stalling the Troll, the third and fourth impacting against its legs forcing it to its knees.

With a groan, the Troll got to its knees and in an orthodox moving of intelligence slammed its club against its face. The beast stumbled around for a few moments, temporarily dizzied by the impact. Then once it gained full control it turned to face Harry. With a growl it raised its club and brought it down.

Harry jumped backwards, barely avoiding the club. However, he was still hit by the bits of rock that were sent flying as a result of the club colliding with the ground. With a grunt he rolled along the ground and quickly got to his feet. It wasn't quick enough as the Troll swung its club around once more and struck his right hand side. His magic responded instantly and he felt something very cold touch his skin and a feeling of being nearly whole.

When the club collided with his right hand, instead of feeling his bone break like he expected he found himself simply been sent flying. Of course, when he collided with the wall he felt a few ribs break.

Looking at his right hand he saw it was covered in dark green scales.

 _§Balthazar? §_

 _§I'm here human. I ssseem to have fusssed with your right arm._ _§_ Nodding his head, Harry shakily got to his feet to see that the Troll was moving towards him, its club scraping against the ground.

With his ribs cracked his mobility had become limited, in terms of both range and speed. Harry knew that he would have to rely on his magic entirely to win this fight, or at least hold off the Troll long enough for Neville to come back with the Professors.

The Troll took swing after swing at him, each time Harry would use his magic to move it off course. All the while he would move backwards. He knew that pure magic would do nothing against a Troll, but physical weapons would do the trick. He didn't have enough skill in Transfiguration to turn the nearby rubble into weapons, so Harry would need to use the suits of armour.

More specifically, the weapons they had.

 _§The weaponsss are nearby human._ _§_

 _§Thanksss Balthazar. §_ Harry hissed back. Quickly he turned around and ran as fast as his injured form would allow. As soon as he passed by three suits of armour he turned around and faced the Troll. Thrusting his left arm to the side he gripped hold of a medieval glaive with his magic. He turned it on its side and spun it round so that the pointed end was pointing towards the Troll.

With a quick push he sent the spear towards the Troll at great speeds. The spear travelled so fast that it embedded into the Troll so about half the spear handle was left out.

He watched the Troll look at the spear in its chest then make some incoherent grumbling before it continued to lumber forwards. He repeated the action again, except this time with his right hand. The reaction to the spear been in its stomach, was once again repeated.

 _§It doesn't seem to be working human. §_ Balthazar spoke up.

 _§I can sssee that. §_ Harry snapped back.

 _§Try sssomething different then. §_

 _§You want to sssee sssomething different._ _§_ Harry hissed. Raising both arms into the air, every weapon in the nearby vicinity rose up and turned to face the Troll. With a roar he thrust both arms forward and the spears shot towards the Troll.

One by one the spears embedded themselves deeply into the Trolls body, before one spear pierced its heart. The hulking beast groaned and teetered on its feet before collapsing forward. The added momentum caused the spears to pierce through its back. Harry watched it with shock however, he too began to teeter. The corner of his vision blackening as a feeling of exhaustion began to come over him.

"Mr Potter!" Slowly and unsteadily he turned around to see Neville, Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape and Dumbledore rushing towards him. All four of them froze in shock as they saw the dead Troll behind him.

"About time." He said good-naturedly. Then he collapsed to the ground as unconsciousness claimed him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Waking up after fighting a Troll was different to waking up any other morning. For one, his body felt stiff and weak. The other was the fact for the first time in his life, his magic felt depleted. Though he could feel it replenishing slowly.

"I see you're awake, Mr Potter." A stern female voice broke him from his thoughts. Looking in the direction of voice he saw a stern looking woman, much like Professor McGonagall. Madam Pomfrey was her name. "Lay still." She ordered when Harry tried to sit up. Slowly he lowered himself back down.

"How long have I been out?" He asked after Madam Pomfrey had finished performing the diagnostic spells.

"Three days." She simply said before pulling out some potions. "Take these." Taking the three potions from her hand, he drank them all one by one. Each tasted just as horrible as the last. If not more so. "There that should help you with your lack of blood, magic and energy." Then she walked away.

"Welcome back to reality, my boy." Dumbledore said catching Harry's attention.

"Professor, what happened to Susan and Hermione?" Dumbledore smiled reassuringly, inside however, his mind had come to realise that despite not been what he wanted, Harry was still willing to fight for others.

"They were safe, we found them hiding on the third floor corridor." Dumbledore explained. Harry meanwhile, found himself confused. Didn't Dumbledore say that no one should enter the third floor corridor, so why was he not bothered by the fact that someone had broken his rule?

"And the Troll?" Here, Dumbledore seemed to grow hesitant, but he answered the question none the less.

"Professor Snape is currently harvesting it." Harry frowned at this. The Right of Conquest was a universal law that if a wizard slays a magical creature, it is his right to decide on what happens with the remains. If someone was to break this law and did not compensate the wronged party, they would be looking at a lifetime imprisonment depending on the worth of the creature.

"But it is mine by Right of Conquest." Harry stated with a frown.

"Ah yes, but you see my boy I thought…" Dumbledore tried to explain his reasoning.

"You thought wrong. You're breaking the law Albus." Another stern female voice spoke up. The Headmaster and the Boy-Who-Lived turned to see a square-jawed witch with close-cropped grey hair and a monocle.

"Ah, Miss Bones. How lovely to see you again." He said in his grandfatherly voice with his eyes twinkling. Amelia simply narrowed her eyes.

"Don't try and change the subject, Albus." Albus's eyes lost a bit of their twinkle. "Now, do you mind telling me why you were trying to break the law? Despite what you may think about your title, you are not above the law."

"Of course Amelia, of course. I shall make sure every bit of the Troll is return to Harry." Dumbledore stood up to leave.

"Two of my Aurors shall accompany you." Amelia said.

"There's no need for Aurors, Amelia." Dumbledore tried.

"There is when you have allowed a Troll to enter Hogwarts's and nearly kill my niece! And then when you just tried to break an ancient law that has been around since the time of Merlin himself! I believe there is a need for Aurors." Once again, Dumbledore found himself unable to rebuff Amelia and simply nodded his head stiffly. Both Harry and Amelia watched as Dumbledore left the room, only when he was gone did Amelia turn to face Harry.

"Thank you, Miss Bones." Amelia allowed a small smile to cross her stern features.

"You're welcome, Mr Potter, it was the least I could have done for what you did for my niece. You can always count the Most Ancient and Noble House of Bones to help you however, please try and avoid getting into trouble with the law." Amelia Bones said after a few moments.

"You can guarantee that I will not be getting into trouble with the law publically." She shook her head in amusment all the while mumbling something similar to, "just like his father." There was a few moment of silence before Harry spoke up. "What has happened since I've been gone?"

"Well, you have hit front page news, become known as the Troll Slayer." She snorted at this. Obviously he wasn't the only one who believed that the title was ridiculous. "Also, the Minister of Magic wishes to speak to you whenever you are free." Harry nodded his head and just as he was about to ask another question, Madam Pomfrey came along and forced Amelia Bones out of the Medical Wing, explaining all the while that Harry needed his rest.

Harry knew one thing as he laid down to rest, it was that everything was about to get much more interesting.


	4. Order of Merlin and the Mirror

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 3**

 **WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.**

 **A/N: I would like to thank god of all, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, anarion87, hunzbookwrym, The Howling Behemoth, hellfire45 InfinityMask, Namikaze Uzumaki Potter, phantomsoul2015, god of all, fez8745, Haades, naruto, Guest, PascalDragon, David305, doctor of supreme awesomeness and Peertje for your reviews.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

He had to spend another few hours in the Medical Wing with Madam Pomfrey casting diagnostic spells every hour to make sure his body was healing. Once she had made sure that he was fully healed she allowed him to go, but not until he had something to eat.

It was midnight by the time he got back to the Slytherin common room and no one was awake when he got there. He was thankful for this, the last thing he needed was to deal with a bunch of people praising him for something he accomplished. He wasn't shy of praise or his fame, but he didn't want to deal with people praising him at this time.

When he arrived in his dorm room he found that Blaise and Theodore were still awake, though they looked to be on the verge of falling asleep.

"Why are you two still awake?" It was a stupid question, he could already guess the answer, but it didn't stop him from asking it. Judging by the raised eyebrows he received from the two, they thought so too.

"We were waiting for you." Theodore answered, Blaise nodded his head.

"Yea, we needed to make sure that what happened was true and not made up." Blaise added.

"So glad you care that I'm alright." Both boys waved off his physical condition as mere semantics. Seeing this, he gave them a fake glare in response.

"Meh, we can see that you're alright and besides, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't have let you out unless you were in perfect condition. Anything less and you'd still be in the Medical Wing." Blaise explained. "So, was it true, did you kill a Troll?"

"Yea I did. Though if it wasn't for Balthazar here." His snake familiar removed itself from his right arm and dropped to the bed, slowly curling into a ball. "Somehow he fused with my hand and when the Troll hit me with its club, it managed to withstand all the force. Without his help, my body will have probably been crushed.

 _§You're welcome human. §_ Balthazar hissed in response to the praise been reaped upon him.

"What'd he say?" Theodore asked curiously.

"He said that I'm welcome." Theodore nodded his head in understanding.

"You know, because of that little act, Millicent Bulstrode, Graham Montague and Peter Pike have withdrawn from Draco's powerbase and came to us to speak to you." Blaise spoke up after a few moments of silence. "Also, Greengrass has agreed to meet with you tomorrow."

"While your little act was Gryffindor-ish in nature, it does seem to have helped your position greatly." Harry nodded his head, while meanwhile thinking of what this would mean for him. If he convinced Greengrass and her little faction of followers, it would mean that he would have nine votes from his year group, however he wanted to completely destroy Draco.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Blaise spoke up, Theodore copied his actions.

Harry meanwhile, entered his mind once more. The first thing he saw was that one of the bottles containing the separate entity was cracked and small amounts of dark shadows were seeping through the gap. The shadow collapsed to the ground, turning into a thick black puddle. He watched in grim satisfaction as a face formed out of the puddle and raised into the air. A screeching sound came from its open mouth before the puddle collapsed in on its self. Afterwards the puddle began to steam before nothing remained.

Looking towards the now empty glass bottle he saw it smash into thousands of tiny pieces. Whatever just happened he was sure of one thing, it had made his first line of defence much weaker.

He would have to think of something else instead of the separate entity when it disappeared completely. Right now, though he used his most recent memory, the memory of fighting the Troll and moulded it into a bottle, with black smoke filling it. An exact copy of the other six bottles.

Exiting his mind, he could already feel a difference in both his mind and his body. He felt lighter and cleaner, like his body had lost some great burden and a great illness had been partly cleansed. His mind also felt clearer, like a fog had been cleared from his mind allowing him to think at a much quicker rate.

Taking a deep breath, Harry closed his eyes once more and allowed sleep to claim him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next morning, after waking up and doing his daily exercises he made his way towards the Great Hall. When he entered there was only three students awake. All of them in Ravenclaw. He ignored the looks they gave him and instead walked towards his table and began eating.

"Hello Potter." A cold feminine voice sounded from behind him. Finishing off his last bit of food, he turned around to see Daphne Greengrass staring at him with indifference.

"Greengrass, lovely to meet you again." He smiled kindly, indicating to the place next to him as an invitation to sit down.

"I'll stand." There were a few moments where she studied him. "You want me to vote for you. Why should I vote for you? Despite losing Pike, Bulstrode and Montague, Draco still has Flint in his pocket and whoever owns Flint has the Quidditch team." Daphne explained gaining a smirk in return. "What?"

"You were right until you got up to Flint and the Quidditch team. You see, Marcus now works for me and like you said, whoever owns Flint, owns the Quidditch team." Harry said in return. "So, tell me, who has the real power?"

"You do." Harry nodded his head with a crooked grin on his face.

"Exactly. So, about your stance on staying neutral?" The doors to the Great Hall opened and in came most of the student body. Daphne gave a small, almost unnoticeable nod before moving to sit with Tracey and the Carrow twins.

"Did she accept?" Theodore asked while sitting down beside him.

"Yep, now I have the Neutrals on my side. Guess I can now speak to Flint about showing Draco his place." Blaise nodded his head in agreement. Christmas was just around the corner and so was the vote for first year leadership. Harry was confident in his victory, but they also knew that if they were to grow confident now it would give Draco a chance to strike. Though he wasn't smart enough to do anything about it, to dismiss him so easily would be foolish.

"Mail's coming." Blaise spoke up, breaking Harry from his thought process.

Hedwig landed down in front of him and with a smile he stroked her feathers while removing the letters in her grasp. All the while Hedwig ate the bacon laid out on his plate.

"Someone's popular." Theodore piped up. Blaise chuckled in amusement.

"Maybe it's all of his new fangirls." Blaise teased before his face morphed into one of horror. "Merlin's balls! It-it could be fanboys!" Blaise said in horror, causing both of them to burst into laughter, even Harry found himself chuckling amusement.

"Prats." He shot back causing them to laugh harder. Looking down at the letters in his hand he read what was said on each envelope. One was from Gringotts, one was from Augusta Longbottom and one was from the Ministry of Magic. Placing the letters from Gringotts and Augusta Longbottom to the side he opened the one from the Ministry of Magic.

Before he could even begin reading it, Theodore began reading out the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"The Boy-Who-Slayed-A-Troll. How boring." The heir of house Nott said after reading out his new title. "In a shocking turn of events, a Troll, that's right my dear readers, a Troll, entered Hogwarts and nearly killed two students. One was a muggleborn student by the name of Hermione Granger, the second was the niece of Amelia Bones our Head of the DMLE, Susan Bones. Harry Potter, vanquisher of You-know-Who, along with Neville Longbottom, fought the Troll. While Neville Longbottom helped the two witches escape, Harry Potter single-handedly defeated and killed the Troll. That's right, killed the Troll!" Theodore took a pause to catch his breath.

"Say what you want about Rita Skeeter, she does know how to make a story sound interesting." Blaise said after a few moments. Shaking his head, Harry turned back to the letters.

 ** _Dear Mr Potter_**

 _We would like to personally thank you for your act of bravery in facing down the Troll. Your actions saved not only the lives of two students, Hermione Granger and Susan Bones. But also saved countless others in the process. Therefore, you and Mr Longbottom are invited to the Yule Ball we are hosting at the Ministry of Magic where you shall be given awards for your acts of bravery shown on Halloween night._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 ** _Cornelius Fudge_**

 ** _Minister for Magic_**

Order of Merlin's. An award bestowed upon any wizard or witch that had achieved great things. He was getting two, one for 'slaying' a Dark Lord. Whoever thought that a child barely two years old could slay a wizard with decades of knowledge and had killed hundreds of wizards and witches, was stupid. At least he was gaining an award he actually deserved.

"What's got you so shocked?" Blaise questioned. Still thoroughly brimming with laughter at their earlier joke. All Harry did was pass over the letter before opening up the letter from Augusta Longbottom. "Bloody hell!" The exclamation made him smile in mirth.

"What?" Theodore looked over Blaise's shoulder before he too went quiet.

Shaking his head at their antics, Harry began reading his second letter.

 ** _Dear Mr Potter_**

 _I would first like to say, thank you. My grandson, Neville, seems to have finally come out of his shell and begun to act like a member of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom; all because of you it seems._

 _'That's a lie.'_ Harry thought, it sounded to him like Augusta found it impossible for Neville to do anything. All Harry did was tell him of heritage. Everything else was all done by Neville himself.

 _Not only that, but I would like to thank you for facing the Troll to allow my grandson time to escape with the two girls. As a thank you I would like to invite you to stay at Longbottom mansion after the Yule Ball for the rest of the holiday._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 ** _Augusta Longbottom_**

 ** _Acting Head of Longbottom Family_**

Harry studied the letter for a minute before placing it to the side. He would take up the offer of course, it would be an insult not to. Insulting the Longbottom's – a long-term ally of his own family – was not a wise decision.

He then opened the letter from Gringotts.

 ** _Dear Mr Potter_**

 _I would like to inform you that the carcass of the Troll has been stripped of all valuable pieces and has been currently placed on both the pen market and the black market. However, like you asked, a section of the muscle and skin have been separated along with the skull, which is now inside Potter Manor._

 _On another note, the Manors belonging to Peverell, Ravenclaw and Albion have been refurbished and all the defensive wards you have asked for have been put into place along with some extra ones of my choosing. As for the Manors belonging to the Le Fay family, it is currently on its way to completion._

 _As for the shops, you are now the owner of eleven shops in Diagon Alley and have shares in seventeen other shops. In Knockturn Alley you own nine shops and you have shares in fourteen others._

 _If there any changes you would like me to make just let me know._

 _Yours sincerely_

 ** _Ripclaw Ragnok_**

 ** _Potter Account Manager_**

Smirking, Harry put the letters back in their respective envelopes before placing them inside his robes.

"Shall we?" His two other friends nodded their head and they made their way towards their next lesson.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The following week had been filled with people trying to speak and praise him. Thankfully, with the help of Peter Pike and Graham Montague who were more than willing to act as bodyguards for him, he had managed to get through the school without been mauled to death by his many fans.

"You go on ahead." Harry said to Blaise, Theodore, Graham and Peter. The four boys nodded their heads and walked outside the classroom, leaving only himself and Professor Flitwick remaining in the classroom.

"Can I help you, Mr Potter?" Harry nodded his head and he moved forwards till he stood before the diminutive Professor.

"Yes, you see I never got around to asking you before, what with me trying to get used to everything. But, you see, I've entered myself into a Duelling tournament and I was wondering if you would be willing to help train me up for it." Professor Flitwick seemed to swell with excitement.

"Of course, Mr Potter, of course." He contemplated something for a minute before speaking once more, "come to me here every Saturday after lunch."

"Thank you, Professor." Giving a slight bow, Harry left the Charms classroom. Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham joined him. In the past week the five of them had become friends in a way. Harry, Blaise and Theodore being much closer than the other two.

"So, what do you plan to do about Draco?" In the past week, Draco had been trying desperately to get more votes. It had all gone down for him the moment Peter, Graham and Bulstrode had left his group. It had only gotten worse when he tried to have the Quidditch team to threaten Harry's group, only to be rebuffed. Then, when the neutrals joined Harry, Draco had begun trying to get Crabbe and Goyle to attack his group. The two were easily beaten by Harry and his group's superior knowledge of magic.

"We do nothing Blaise; Flint will do it." They entered the library, and moved towards one of the tables in a far end corner. Sat around the table were five people – Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Neville Longbottom, Terry Boot and Hermione Granger.

He liked three out of the five. One he did not like, but would help him in later life, the other was to his end goals and only stayed for protection.

Susan Bones was very valuable. She hailed from the Most Ancient and Noble House of Bones, a previous ally of the Potter family. More specifically, the Grand Alliance created by Charlus Potter. However, after Charlus' death the alliance members split and formed their own alliances. The Bones family became allies with the Most Ancient and Noble House of Macmillan, Ancient and Noble House of Abbott and the Ancient House of Smith. By fostering friendships with them he was bringing back Bones into the Grand Alliance with additional houses as well.

For you see, in the wizarding world, the leading family of an alliance was decided not by who formed it, but who had the most influence. So, if a leading family of an alliance choose to join another, the families they were once allied with would have to join as well. They could only leave if they went to the new leading family and was given permission to leave.

Then there was Neville Longbottom, the only family from the Grand Alliance who had not abandoned the Potters. While they had no additional allies, they were a Most Ancient and Most Noble House and therefore was extremely influential. Not only that, but Neville had lots of magical potential and would be a very formidable fighter with the right training. Hopefully, with his visit to the Longbottom's, he could convince Augusta to give him that extra training.

Hannah Abbott was by far the least influential person on the table, except for Hermione. She was allied with Susan and therefore was only at the table because wherever Susan went, Hannah went.

Terry Boot was the final person of use on the table. He had never been a member of the Grand Alliance, but in recent years, the Ancient and Noble House of Boot had joined a very large alliance of lower houses. In it was the Ancient House of Chang, Edgecomb, Belby, Goldstein, Brocklehurst, Corner, MacDougal and the Ancient and Noble House of Patil and the Li's. A large alliance of smaller houses. Alone, they were nothing, but together they made quite an influential group. Not enough to threaten others, but enough to make a difference.

Hermione Granger was the last one on the table. She was skilled in theory, but at the practical side she was average. She had lots of control, but that was easily accomplished when you had next to no magical power. In fact, the only reason he allowed her to stay was because she was the only one who could be bothered to pay attention in History of Magic.

"Harry, is it alright if I talk to you alone?" Nodding his head, he followed Neville, while Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham sat at the table.

"What'd you reckon their talking about?" Blaise asked the three other Slytherin's. Terry, Hermione and Hannah shrugged their shoulders while Susan simply gave him a meaningful glance that made him nod his head in understanding.

"So, what'd you need, Neville?" Harry asked behind a bookcase.

"It's about the night we faced the Troll." Seeing Harry's inquiring stare, he elaborated. "When me, Hermione and Susan were running away we somehow ended up on the third-floor corridor. While there we saw Professor Snape come out of this room, holding his right leg that was bleeding. So, I decided to, you know…" He trailed off embarrassedly.

"You went to investigate didn't you?"

"Yeah." He chuckled sheepishly.

"So, what'd you find?"

"A Cerberus." Neville said simply.

"A Cerberus?"

"Yea, and under one of its paws was a trapdoor." Neville explained.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I went to go find Hagrid, you know because he's the Groundskeeper." Seeing the inquiring stare, he continued. "Well, I found that the Cerberus is called Fluffy; I know stupid name." He spoke up once he saw the formation of a smile on Harry's face. "I also found out that the Cerberus is guarding something to do with Nicolas Flamel."

"Nicolas Flamel? Isn't he the immortal alchemist?" Harry questioned.

"Yea he is." Nodding his head, Harry began to think of what could possibly be hidden in Hogwarts, which was so valuable that it needed to be guarded by a Cerberus and also belonged to Nicolas Flamel. Harry knew he would have to research this, but whatever it was; he would have to get his hands on it eventually.

Nicolas Flamel was a historically renowned genius, who was rumoured to be six hundred and sixty-five; some even speculated that he was older, but no one actually knew that. One thing everyone did know was that he was master of alchemy and the creator of the Philosopher's Stone. This itself was only able to turn something to gold; however, it was the key ingredient to the creation of a Potion called the Elixir of Life.

Nodding his head, the two moved back to the table where everyone else was sat.

"Finished talking?" Blaise asked in good humour.

"What does it look like?" Harry shot back while sitting down.

"Touché, touché." Blaise acknowledged.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Most of the student body had left to go home for Christmas; only a few had not gone. Harry and Blaise were some of the only ones that had not gone on home, each for different reasons. Harry had no home he wished to return to and Blaise's mum was away with her new husband and therefore he had no one to return to.

The time they spent in the first week was doing odd bits and bobs.

Both had got into a routine for the first week. Without any lessons to occupy some of their time, they had found after the first two days that doing nothing was tedious. So, Blaise had woken up at six o'clock every morning and had begun doing exercises alongside Harry. Then after having breakfast the two would go to the library and study all types of magic. After having lunch, Harry would then spend three hours training with Professor Flitwick, Blaise on the other hand would spend time in the common room relaxing.

After that the two would just spend the day relaxing, playing Wizard's chess, reading, and in Harry's case, improving his Occlumency shields.

His training with Professor Flitwick had been a mix of multiple things. They would start off with the Professor throwing multiple stinging hexes at him and Harry would be forced to dodge as many as he could. This was because dodging an enemy's attacks are much more reliable. Blocking spells was good unless someone overpowered their spells to the point it would just break your shield; there was also the fact that the Unforgivables would just bypass any shield put up. Redirecting/catching spells was much better than blocking, but you needed to place your wand directly in front of the spell at exactly the right time, otherwise it would not work.

Then they would be going through the rules and regulations of the Duelling competition, before moving onto Spell Chaining. Professor Flitwick had taught Harry the best ways to chain spells and what spells to use in spell chains.

The final thing they would do was learning how to under and overpower a spell. If a wizard/witch underpowered his spells it would dissipate before it hit your target and therefore would act as a distraction that would stop your enemy from seeing what you really planned to do. However, if a wizard/witch overpowered his spells they could potentially end a fight in one hit.

It was Christmas morning when they woke up, both excited like any child was on Christmas Day.

Clambering out of bed, he looked to see Blaise was already sat on the floor looking through the pile of presents piled up.

"I've sorted through them all. That one there is yours." He inclined his head at the group of presents just chucked randomly in a corner. Turning to face Blaise with a raised eyebrow, the brown-skinned Italian simply shrugged in return. "What, they're your problem, not mine." Shaking his head, Harry made his way towards the 'pile' of presents.

The first one he opened was a gift from Ripclaw, he was shocked. From what he had heard of how Goblins had acted around other wizards was that they were rude and downright nasty. So, to receive a gift from one was rare. There were two long daggers, of similar shape and size to that of Elven daggers used by Legolas in Lord of the Rings. Due to his current size they were similar to that of a long sword, and therefore impractical to use. He marvelled at the blades and found that they were very light, almost weightless, and along the blade multiple runes were inscribed on to it.

Enclosed along with the two blades was a letter.

 ** _Dear Mr Potter_**

 _I believe you humans call this season Yule or Christmas. Normally, I nor any Goblin would dare give a human a gift due to them believing we are beneath them. You however have treated me like an equal and I have also found the past few months working alongside you to be very enjoyable._

 _So as a thank you and insurance that you continue to remember who helped you get to where you want to be, the two blades are made from Goblin-forged steel. It is as light aluminium and ten times stronger than steel._

 _The runes on the side do different things. There is an unbreakable, strength, sharpness, weightless and also a personal Goblin rune, the knowledge rune. I have personally infused my knowledge on wielding a blade into the sword. When you wield it, the information will not make you master, but instead act as a guide for you to follow. I would suggest that when you are tall enough, you should work on a style that suits your body type._

 _Yours sincerely_

 ** _Ripclaw Ragnok_**

 ** _Potter Account Manager_**

"Who'd you get that from?" Blaise asked curiously as he looked at the two blades placed on the floor.

"My account manager." Harry replied, while re-reading the letter once more.

"A Goblin? A Goblin gave you two Goblin-forged steel blades…as a gift?" Blaise asked sceptically. "Did I ask if we were on about Goblins?"

"Yes, you did Blaise, yes you did." Harry didn't say anything after that, not even when Blaise picked up one of the blades.

"It's so light." Chuckling at Blaise's breathless comment, he began opening up his other presents. His next gift was from Theodore, it was a book on the Dark Arts from his family's own personal library. The gifts he received were mainly books called Magical Fairy Tales a Guide to Successful Flying, A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration, A Guide to Advanced Charms, The Greatest Empires of the Magical World, The History of the Seven Warlords of Magical Britain and finally, History's Most Dangerous Enchantments from Peter, Graham, Susan, Hannah, Terry, Neville and Blaise respectively. With only a box of sweets from Hermione.

"Thanks for the gift." Looking up from the book given to him by Blaise, he saw that the boy in question was holding onto the book he gave him. The book itself was about the history of Slytherin house.

"You're welcome." There were a few moments of silence as the two placed their gifts onto a separate pile, doing so revealed that Harry had a final gift. Studying it for a few minutes, he began to open it. When he did, it revealed a simple cloak.

"Who's it from?"

"Dunno, all it says is that my father left this in this random person's care and now he or she is giving it to me."

"Go on then, try it on." Shaking his head at Blaise's eagerness he placed it around his shoulders and to his surprise his body disappeared, except for his head. "Bloody hell, you've got an Invisibility Cloak! To be honest, I shouldn't be surprised, your family were traders, so you were bound to run across one eventually."

Nodding his head in agreement, Harry folded the cloak and placed it down on his bed.

"So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?" Harry asked.

"Dunno, I'll probably go spend some time in the library. I'm guessing you're going to Longbottom Manor?" Blaise asked.

"Yea, I'm packing my stuff now, then I'm travelling by floo to Diagon Alley." Harry said while beginning to pack his stuff.

"Diagon Alley? Why don't you just go to King's Cross Station?"

"I have to speak with my account manager and there's some stuff in Diagon Alley I need to collect."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Dumbledore sat in his office, Christmas was never a time for him to celebrate without his sister. A knock at the door alerted him to a person wishing to enter his office. The door soon opened revealing the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Infuriate-Him. His plans had been ruined because of the young Potter heir.

He had lost a large source of funding for the Order of the Phoenix because while there is no need for the Order right now, Voldemort would eventually return, and he would need every last available resource. Whilst the Potter's had a lot of money, it was not enough to make them invaluable. He would just have to fund the Order with money from his own vaults, something he had tried to avoid in the First Wizarding War.

If the boy wished to have control of his vault, Dumbledore would indulge him if only to begin fostering some level of trust between the two. That didn't mean he would completely stay out of the boy's life, oh no.

The tests would remain, if only to allow him to measure the boy's magical growth. If he was too powerful and a threat to the world he wished to create, Dumbledore would kill; eliminate him before he became another Voldemort. If he was powerful and wished to help him create his world then he would let the Potter heir live. It was just a matter of what the boy became.

"Ah my boy, off already?" Dumbledore asked in his grandfatherly voice.

"Yes, Professor." He waved the boy over to his fireplace.

"Do you know how this works?" Harry shook his head and Dumbledore simply smiled condescendingly. "That's quite alright. It's very simple, all you have to do is take a pinch of the powder, then when you step into the fireplace, simply throw it at the ground and say where you want to go."

Nodding his head, Harry walked into the fireplace with his trunk. Taking a small amount of floo powder from a bowl presented to him by Dumbledore, he threw it on the ground and said, "Leaky Cauldron."

Dumbledore continued to stare at the place Harry once sat. His smile turning into a frown. If the Potter heir wished to be treated like an adult, the kid gloves that he had been treating Harry with would no longer be on.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

With a grunt, Harry found himself face first on the ground of the Leaky Cauldron. Pushing himself up to his feet he dusted his clothes of any dirt on them and looked around to see if anyone had seen his disastrous entry.

"First time travelling by floo?" Looking up he saw that it was Tom the barkeeper that asked the question. Nodding his head, Harry picked up his trunk. "Word of advice. When you throw the power down start walking out, helps keep you balanced."

"Thanks." He went towards the door and exited onto Diagon Alley. There were very few people out, something he was grateful for. His fame had grown and therefore, so had the number of fans he had. It was one of the reasons why he had not left at the start of the Yule holidays. If he left then, Harry would have to face countless parents who would wish to thank him. He didn't mind of course, but he would rather not be held up.

He passed every shop and headed straight towards Knockturn Alley. Moving past a few wizards who gave him odd looks, he entered Borgin and Burkes.

The bell behind the door chimed, and a man he assumed to be Mr Borgin entered from a door. Paying him no heed, Harry looked at the various artefacts and books. Two books and a single artefact caught his attention the most. The books were called, Greatest Necromancer's and Est autem necromantia, roughly translated to Necromancy. Whilst he would never bring a soul back from the dead, to do so would be an insult to the Death, the body, however, was something he would use without care.

The object was a single, right handed gauntlet. It was deep black in colour with spikes coming out from the knuckle. Imprinted on the back of it was a faded symbol. A triangle with a line cutting directly through the middle with a circle in the centre of the triangle. He didn't know what they symbol meant, but Harry knew it held something of great value.

"How much for these?" Harry asked, while placing the gauntlet and the books on the desk. Mr Borgin looked from the three objects to Harry.

"I can sell you the books for a price of three hundred galleons. Very rare books they are and worth the extra galleons. The gauntlet however, is already reserved." Mr Borgin said.

"One hundred and fifty for the books and I'll double whatever the wizard or witch is paying for the gauntlet." Harry bargained.

"Two hundred and fifty for the books." Mr Borgin countered.

"Done. And the gauntlet."

"Yours." Mr Borgin pondered something for a few moments. Obviously trying to find the total price. "That will be five hundred and thirty two galleons." Nodding his head, Harry passed over the necessary amount before taking his things.

Moving through the streets, Harry made his way towards Moribund's where he collected something that Ripclaw had ordered. There was no fuss or anything of the like.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Longbottom Manor was just like he expected. Large expanses of green fields, filled with different types of flowers and plants. The manor itself was magnificent, large towering gates, glass windows and that old-fashioned building style that had a certain appeal to it. Beside him, Neville chuckled in amusement at Harry's shock. It wasn't surprising, anyone who had not been raised in the Magical World would find the lavish lifestyle of the Magical Families amazing.

Neville and his Grandmother had found Harry exiting Gringotts, apparently he had just had a meeting with Ripclaw.

The meeting between Harry and Augusta had been very amusing to Neville. It had been the first time he had seen Harry nervous. Even when he fought the Troll, he seemed calm, cool and collected. But when he met Augusta, he looked like he was struggling to find the correct words to say.

It took him around five minutes before Harry was finally able to say what needed to be said. The shock on his grandmother's face when Harry told her that it was her insistence that Neville should have his father's wand that nearly got two students killed was an eye opener.

For the first time in his life, Augusta had apologised. Then they went to Ollivanders to purchase another wand for Neville and both boys had to admit, there was a massive improvement in Neville's ability to use magic. Spells that he had once been unable to use, came as easy to him as breathing.

Augusta watched from the doorway as the two boys continued to practise magic. Both were having fun. They had just come up from the basement, which had been turned into a duelling room by her grandfather-in-law. Now they were using the harmless, but embarrassing, spells on one another. It warmed her heart seeing her grandson finally have a friend.

Maybe she had been too harsh on Neville as a child. Always pushing him to be exactly like his father, Frank. But, looking at him now, she realised that Neville was never going to be like his father.

He was going to be better.

"Neville, Mr Potter, it's about time you go upstairs and get ready. The Yule party will be starting soon." Augusta spoke up, interrupting their current activity. The two boys nodded their heads and began making their way up the stairs, pushing each other and laughing all the way.

Entering his room, Harry closed the door behind him and looked around it.

It still shocked him that this was just a single room of many in the Longbottom Manor. The room itself isn't very extravagant. Just a large four poster bed, with a bedside table on either side, and some drawers and a cupboard. His clothes for the night were already laid out on his bed, no doubt the work of Gabbey, the Longbottom's House Elf.

The House elves were something else that fascinated him about the Magical World. The fact that they were the last species of elves on the planet was something that warranted looking into. Thankfully, Augusta had saved him the time and effort.

Apparently, the House Elves were descended from the True elves as they were called. The True elves were wiped out during the time of Merlin. According to the history books, the True elves sided with Morgan Le Fay and Mordred. The elves apparently, had grown tired of been mistreated by the humans and had sworn an oath to serve Morgan Le Fay and her legacy. Merlin however, defeated her, and Arthur and his armies defeated Mordred and the True elves.

The elves, to stop their people from been hunted to extinction, came to Merlin.

The wizard stripped them of most of their magical power and cursed them to never be able to survive without serving a master. According to legend, the House elves were waiting for someone to free them of Merlin's curse so that they could serve the House of Le Fay once more.

The thought made him smirk. A wise person once said, that all legends have some measure of truth to them. If this legend was true, then he would have a valuable resource.

Changing was a tedious affair. Having a shower, styling his hair and then getting changed into his dark green, with a silver lining, robes made of Acromantula silk. Once he was done, he checked in the mirror to see that he looked presentable before walking down to the main living room.

This room was much more extravagant than his bedroom. With old-fashioned sofas, chandeliers, pictures of previous Longbottom family members and a single large fireplace.

Neville and Augusta were already stood waiting.

"I hope I haven't kept you waiting?" Harry asked sheepishly.

"Nah, I only just got down." Nodding his head with a relieved smile, he stepped forwards into the fireplace beside Neville. Due to its larger than normal size, it allowed more than one person to travel at the same time.

"Ministry of Magic." Augusta spoke clearly, while throwing floo powder to the ground. Remembering Tom's advice, he began walking and found that when he came out on the other side, he was still stood upright. "Follow me." Doing as Augusta said, Neville and Harry followed after the woman.

"Wands please." A man asked from behind a security desk. Each of them pulled out their wands and handed them over to the wizard stood behind the desk. Of course, what none of them knew was that Harry had his second wand hidden up his left sleeve. Call him paranoid, but Harry wouldn't put it past some pureblood supremacists to get revenge.

The journey to the area in which the Yule party was being held was enjoyable for both Neville and Harry. The lift was the most interesting part of it all. The way it kept moving from side to side, backwards, forwards and downwards at high speeds.

Already many people were sat around the multiple tables. In total there were sixteen tables. Five tables for each faction; Light, Neutral and Dark. They passed those tables and headed straight for the only remaining table. This was the only table that was full except for three seats. There was Dumbledore, Amelia and six others he didn't recognise. Augusta took a seat next to Dumbledore, while Neville sat next to her. Harry meanwhile, was seated in-between Neville and Amelia.

"Hello Mr Potter, it's absolutely wonderful to meet you." A man with a top hat and looked to be a bit overweight said in a delighted tone. "I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic here in Magical Britain." Harry took the extended arm and found that the enthusiasm in a single hand shake nearly dislocated his arm.

"Nice to meet you, Minister." Harry replied unsteadily.

"Yes, yes. I believe introductions are in order. You already know Amelia and Dumbledore. This is Dolores Umbridge, my Senior Undersecretary." He indicated to the woman in a pink outfit that Blaise would describe as being "ghastly." The thought made him smile. "Then there is Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Office." Rufus was a stern looking man with tawny, long hair. "Ludo Bagman." He was a man who had once been a muscular man, but since his retirement his muscle had decreased in size and was reminiscent to fat. "Barty Crouch Senior." He was another stern looking man who, like the Minister, wore a top hat. "And last, but not least, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy." Lucius and his wife wore the most expensive looking robes. Lucius had white-blonde hair with pale skin, while his wife had brown hair with white-blonde highlights and pale skin.

 _'They make quite a pair.'_ Harry thought as he stared at the Malfoy's.

"So how are you enjoying school, Mr Potter?" Rufus Scrimgeour asked.

"It's…interesting." Harry said after a few moments of silence. "Though, I would like it to be a bit more challenging."

"How so?" Rufus questioned further as everyone took note of what Harry was saying. Dumbledore, despite being Headmaster of the school, couldn't find it within him to argue this point. Harry was a prodigy, as the teachers had said numerous times. They had all talked about giving him extra work, but Dumbledore had refused. Perhaps, he should allow Harry to have extra work just so that the boy could continue to learn the wonders of magic. Of course, Dumbledore would have to make it clear that it was he, who gave the teachers the permission.

"Harry here is a prodigy in the art of understanding magic. He wields it with great skill for his age. Not even I was as skilled as he when I was his age." Dumbledore answered for Harry. Lucius and Narcissa, who had been speaking with each other privately, turned their gaze to Harry.

"Is he now?" Lucius drawled. Ludo seemed to be practically brimming with excitement. "That is to be expected, is it not? After all, he is the vanquisher of the Dark Lord, the great Boy-Who-Lived." Beside him, Umbridge seemed to sneer in disgust at the mention of his title. Harry didn't know Umbridge personally, but he could already tell he would not like this woman.

"What I did as a child has nothing to do with what I have accomplished now." Harry said, though everyone clearly heard the angry undertone in his voice. He hid it well, but it was still heard.

"Of course not." Lucius replied simply in a mocking tone. "Who am I to question the great Boy-Who-Lived?"

Narrowing his eyes, Harry replied. "I don't know, Lucius Malfoy of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Malfoy." It was Lucius's turn to narrow his eyes, only those who knew of what Draco had been spouting were aware of the true meaning to Harry's words.

"Wa..." Lucius never got to finish his sentence as Cornelius Fudge stood up and tapped his spoon against the side of his goblet. Harry tensed, his left hand gripping his wand tightly as he prepared for Lucius to attack, it never came as he looked around the room. Copying his action, Harry looked around to see that all the tables had been filled in their time of talking amongst each other.

"W-welcome everyone." Fudge stuttered at first as he hastily cut in to stop a conflict between Lucius and Harry. "As you know, today we celebrate the brave acts of two young wizards who risked their lives to save countless others."

There was a light applause around the room. Fudge smiled as he quickly made his way towards the small stage. On it was a desk with three medals.

"On the night of Halloween, a Troll somehow managed to enter Hogwarts grounds and nearly killed two students." Here he looked at Amelia. "However, due to the brave acts of two young boys, they were saved and probably countless others in the process. They faced the Troll and managed to kill it. So, will Neville Longbottom please come to the stage?"

Nervously, the boy got up and walked up towards Fudge until he was stood beside him.

"Neville here, distracted the Troll long enough for Susan Bones and Hermione Granger to escape from harm. He then took the two girls to safety. For his bravery shown in the face of danger, I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you, the Order of Merlin: Second Class." A large golden circle with a purple ribbon. Neville bowed his head allowing Cornelius to place the medal around his neck.

Once again there was a light applause around the area.

"Harry Potter, please come to the stage." Once Harry was beside him, Fudge spoke again. "What hasn't this boy done? On Halloween, Harry Potter along with Neville Longbottom faced against the Troll. While Neville helped lead the two witches to safety, Harry risked his life to distract the Troll, and went one step further. He killed the Troll." Here there was a light applause. "For his service in saving many lives, I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you the Order of Merlin: Second Class."

A medal exactly the same as Neville's was placed around his neck. Following this was an applause from the crowd. Harry went to move away, however was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Fudge giving him a look that told him to wait.

"Mr Potter's conquests do not stop there. Oh no. Barely older than 1 year old, You-Know-Who attacked the Potters. Sadly, that day we lost two valuable members of our society." There was a moment of silence for James and Lily. "However, their sacrifice was not in vain. Harry Potter, in an act that shocked us all, slayed the very monster that had terrorised our homes for eleven years. I, on behalf of Magical Britain, bestow upon you the Order of Merlin: First Class."

Harry bowed his head and a medal with a green ribbon instead of purple was placed around his neck. All around the room, the Neutrals and the Light faction gave loud cheer and round of applause, while the Dark faction kept it polite.

Taking a seat at the table once more, Harry gave a smirk in Lucius' direction, which infuriated Lord Malfoy even further.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry had never known he could miss a place more than he would miss Hogwarts. He had been away for two weeks and being away had felt like he was missing a part of himself. Now that he was back, he felt at home. It was an odd concept for him; no place had felt like home for him.

They were currently sat in the Charms classroom. It was their last lesson for the day and for the first time he felt challenged. The Professors had given him extra challenges and made other parts more difficult. It seems Dumbledore had taken his words to heart. The thought pleased him; now he had something to look forward to in lessons. Now they were no longer a chore to do, something he hated as it reminded him of his treatment at the hands of the Dursley's

On his left-hand side was Blaise, with Theodore on his right. On the row above them was Peter and Graham. The six of them had been unable to meet each other over the holiday, except for Neville and Harry.

They were currently learning the severing charm, pronounced with Diffindo.

Amongst them, Theodore was the first one to be able to perform the spell on a small piece of cloth. Following him was Peter, Blaise and then Graham. Harry had already been able to do this spell already, however, he had been given a thick block of wood. So far he had been able to split it in half with his wand. Though when it came to doing it wandlessly he was only able to split the block halfway down the middle.

 _"Diffindo."_ Harry whispered and swiped his hand downwards. The block of wood instantly had a large split going down the centre. Beside him, Blaise chuckled. Shooting him a glare, Harry looked at the wood that had miraculously repaired itself. It was one of Professor Flitwick's personal charms. A charm that would not repair an object magically, due to that making it weaker, but instead it took the same materials from a nearby source and used that to repair an object.

The thing that really confused him, was the fact that he had been using magic to repair his body after the beatings he suffered at the hands of the Dursley's. Every time he did so, it made his body stronger, not weaker. He didn't know the reason why, but he knew he would get the answer from someone or something eventually.

 _"Diffindo."_ Harry tried again and this time it made a cut three-quarters of the way down the block of wood. Waiting for a few moments, he allowed the wood to repair itself before trying again.

"And here I thought you were meant to be good at magic." Peter spoke from above him. With a wave of his hand, Harry listened to the sound of Peter's jaw closing shut with a click.

"I am." Theodore chuckled in amusement from beside him.

With a deep breath, Harry tried the spell once more and to his never-ending joy, he finally got it to work. With a sigh, Harry leaned backwards.

"About time you got it to work." Blaise said.

"I will kill you." All five of them laughed lightly at the byplay.

The clock tower chimed not long afterwards, indicating the end of the lesson. Saying goodbye to the other four, Harry made his way towards Professor Flitwick, who was already making space for their Duelling practise.

"So, what are we doing today, Professor?" Harry asked curiously.

"The usual." Harry had barely any warning, the only one being Professor Flitwick drawing his wand. Moving without thought, Harry leant to the side, only just avoiding the stinging hex sent his way. Ten minutes went by, with Harry constantly weaving and dodging as many stinging hexes as he could.

He could tell he was making progress due to him not feeling as much pain as he normally did after they finished this exercise.

"You've improved a lot since we first did this." Professor Flitwick said. Harry's lips tugged upwards at the praise being given to him. Heaving in a few more breaths, he stood up and looked to Professor Flitwick.

"How much?"

"Well, I would say you dodged around six out of ten on your first go, now you're dodging around two out of ten." Nodding his head, Harry drew out his wand. Professor Flitwick gave a flick of his wand and a large wooden figurine appeared beside him. "I'm going to teach you a very useful spell. It's called the Bombarda charm. It is not officially part of the school curriculum, but this charm will help you in your Duelling matches. The pronunciation is Bombarda and it is an explosion spell." Professor Flitwick turned to the wooden dummy and waved his wand around. _"Bombarda."_

As soon as the spell struck the target, it caused the wooden dummy to explode. Harry, as soon as he saw the effect of the spell, realised how useful it would have been in his fight against the Troll.

Following this was a few minutes of Harry practising the wand movements. Once he had them down, he turned to face the dummy.

 _"Bombarda!"_ The spell shot from his wand, but it was more like a harmless wind that hit the dummy and not an explosion spell.

"Remember Harry. Visualise what effect my spell had on the dummy. When you perform yours think of that memory and will that to happen." Filius explained. Nodding his head, Harry once again faced the dummy.

 _"Bombarda!"_ The spell shot from his wand and hit the dummy. This time though it caused the entire right arm to explode, the remaining half however, simply fell to the ground due to the force.

"That's good for your second try. Now, this time imagine a chain reaction. Imagine that when one part strikes the wooden dummy, the rest of the body explodes."

 _"Bombarda!"_ The spell struck the target once more and this time the top half exploded, while the remaining half dropped to the ground.

"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed. "Now, again."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Three hours, that's how long he had spent trying to get to sleep. He had tried working on his Occlumency shields to calm himself. It had done nothing, he had tried doing a few exercises to tire his body, but nothing had worked. There was something he needed to do, something that was calling to him.

Getting out of bed, he looked around and allowed his magic to spread out around the room. Something latched onto his magic.

 _§What isss it human?_ § Balthazar asked, his head tiredly raising up from its position on Harry's bed.

 _§It'sss nothing Balthazar. Go back to sssleep. §_ Instead of doing that, Balthazar instead slithered across the ground and up Harry's body. _§I thought I asssked you to go back to sssleep? §_

 _§You did, I'm choosssing to ignore you. §_ Giving a small laugh in response, Harry looked through his trunk, gently placing his two long daggers on the ground before picking up his Invisibility Cloak. _§What isss it? §_

 _§For sssome reassson, I feel the need to go out and it'sss ssstronger when I'm wearing thisss._ § Harry hissed in wonderment.

 _§Why don't you put it on? It'sss obviousss that you can't sssleep, why not go on a little walk? §_ Balthazar asked. Harry pondered the thought for a few moments before nodding his head. Grabbing hold of the cloak, Harry walked out of his dorm and began making his way to the common room. Luckily no one was awake and therefore he had no need to put on his Invisibility cloak.

Walking through Hogwarts at night was entirely different to walking through it during the day, Harry decided immediately. Not just because of the lack of other students, but because everything seemed dead.

While his eyes and mind were taking in his surroundings, his body moved by itself. He didn't know where he was going, but something was telling him to go somewhere.

Slowly he came to a stop before a door. Looking around to see if anyone was present, he reached out and opened the door. Carefully closing the door behind him he looked to see what was in the room. The only thing that stood out was a single mirror. In fact, that was the only thing in the room.

It was very large and as he looked in it he didn't see himself, but he saw two adults. One was a man looking exactly like him with glasses, the other a beautiful woman with red hair and eyes the same shade of green as his own. Both were smiling down at him, but behind him he could make out a mountain of bodies, looking down at the feet of his mirror self he also saw himself stood on a pile of bodies.

Looking back up at his mirror-self he saw that it had changed. He was dressed in a Dragon-hide top, with a Goblin-forged chest plate and Goblin-forged armguards, covering his hands was the gauntlet he bought from Borgin and Burkes, with another on his left hand formed from Goblin-forged steel. However, on the original was a single black stone and attached to his chest plate was his Invisibility cloak and stuck to his left hand were three wands, one he did not recognise. Held tightly in both hands were his two long daggers.

His mirror-self looked at him with amusement and then Harry took in the sight of the mirror changing. He watched in different ways as enemies he recognised, Dumbledore, Snape, Lucius and Draco been killed by himself, while many others he did not were also struck down by his own hands.

With each kill, Harry watched as the mountain of bodies grew higher and higher till they were back to its original height.

 _§What do you sssee human? §_ Balthazar hissed from beside him.

 _§I sssee myssself, ssstanding upon a mountain of bodiesss made from my enemiesss. §_ Here, Harry paused for a few moments as he stared at his two parents. _§And my parentsss. §_

"Hello, my boy." A voice piped up from behind him. Turning around he saw Dumbledore looking at him. Quickly Harry looked to see that his cloak had dropped to the ground. Dumbledore looked to the mirror, then to Harry and the cloak before nodding his head. "I see like many others before you, you have found the Mirror of Erised."

Harry turned away from the Dumbledore and studied the mirror with greater scrutiny. On it he noticed that it said, _'Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi._ ' He read it for a few more moments before he finally realised what it said. _'I show you not your face but your heart's desire.'_

"Men have wasted away before it, not knowing if what they have seen is real, or even possible." Dumbledore continued. "May I ask, what do you see?"

"I see myself and my parents." Harry said, choosing to keep the other part hidden. Not knowing how Dumbledore would react if he knew about the other part of his desire. "What do you see, Professor?"

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, white, woollen socks. No one can have too many socks." Dumbledore said. "I must ask you, Mr Potter. Do not look for it again." Nodding his head, Harry picked up his cloak and walked past Dumbledore. Quickly he put it on and made his way back towards his dorm room. Already he could feel the desire to sleep creeping up on him.

Dumbledore watched Harry go with something akin to accomplishment.

The elderly wizard was glad to know that not all of his plans were completely destroyed. The boy still craved the love of a family. Dumbledore knew he could use his desire into the plans he had for the boy. While he was no longer taking a keen interest in the boy's future as much as he did, he knew that Prophecies could not be disobeyed.

Therefore, he would have to get someone who could foster a good relationship with the boy. The Weasley's were out of the question for now, Ronald had seen to that. With time the boy may still warm up to the Weasley's, if not, Molly would certainly revert to her old ways of using Love Potions to get her way.

Sirius, while being innocent, was also out of the question. He had only ever been loyal to the Potter's who had in turn, only sided with him due to Lily's respect for authority figures. If she hadn't, the Potter's would have never joined the Order of the Phoenix.

The only other person was Remus Lupin. However, he was God knows where. He would have to cash in some favours that are owed to him, but it was all for the greater good.

Eventually, Remus would meet Harry and then would gain Harry's trust. In doing so, the Werewolf would help Harry to see that Dumbledore was not the bad guy he believed, but in fact someone that only wished to help. If not, well, it was no great loss. No matter what happened, whether Harry worked for him or not, Harry would kill Voldemort.

This night had proven that Harry desired a family. Voldemort took that from him and so he would kill him as a way to ensure that his parents were avenged. That part made him the most secure in Voldemort's future, however, not in the future of his dream world.

He would have to think on ways to ensure his dream world comes too being.

For now though, he would study the Boy-Who-Lived. See what areas he excelled, which he did not and which areas he seemed to show the most interest in. In doing so it would allow him to properly plan on how to defeat Harry if he grew to threaten his dream world.

 **A/N: Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable. This chapter was just a filler, the next one is the chapter where Harry gets the Philosopher's Stone. So please leave a review if you have any questions. Also, I've posted a review about who should be in Harry's harem.**


	5. The Philosophers Stone

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 4**

 **WARNING: THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE.**

 **A/N: Just to let you know, when my next chapter is uploaded the poll will be closed. So, if you haven't yet voted, go other and do that now. If for some reason it's not working, just send me who you want to be in the harem in a review. Also for those that want to know, romance is not the main focus of the story.**

 **I would also like to thank Parati, InfinityMask, Otsutsuki no Yami, AdamH312, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Red Archer, hunzbookwrym, naruto, anarion87, mwinter1, hellfire45, DBZx Skyfall, doctor of supreme awesomeness, man13port, Taliseth, millerm740, gord, Namikaze Uzumaki Potter, Reader of Harry Potter and Guest for your reviews.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It had been a month since Harry had last seen the Mirror of Erised. Despite telling Dumbledore that he would not go searching for it, he had. Each trip around Hogwarts had turned out to be fruitless. The Mirror of Erised had disappeared and with it the image. Every night he would replay the images of the enemies.

Of course, he never told Blaise, Theodore, Neville, Peter and Graham of the mirror.

Speaking of Neville. The two had been researching tirelessly on the man Nicolas Flamel. Sadly, nothing turned up. They asked the librarian, Irma Prince on information about Nicolas Flamel and there were no books.

Thankfully, Blaise Zabini informed them about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone. A stone which was the key ingredient to making the Elixir of Life. A Potion that would extend the life of the user. Of course, there was one very big downside to this potion. If you didn't take another dose before the last one lost its affect, you would die instantly. However, the pros outweighed the cons in his opinion.

Immortality. Living forever, in that time Harry could become the strongest wizard in existence. No one would be able to defeat him. He would become a living legend, a God amongst men.

It was the end of the day and Harry and his six friends were sat around a table in the library. These were the only people that were aware of what could possibly be hidden in the third-floor corridor; besides the Professors.

"So, what exactly do you plan to do about the Philosopher's Stone, if it's even down there?" Blaise asked.

"I'll return it to its rightful owner of course." Harry answered as if it was obvious.

"For free?" Theodore questioned sceptically.

"Of course not. But I have to have some secrets." Harry replied.

"Quick question." Peter piped in. "How do we even know that the Philosopher's Stone is even down there?"

"The Philosopher's Stone is one of if not Nicolas Flamel's most valuable object. Hogwarts is also one of the most secure places in the world, that and the fact that Nicolas and Dumbledore were once good friends, it makes perfect sense that they would hide it here." Neville explained gaining shocked looks from everyone around the table. "What? I can be smart when I want to be, besides I've been working with Harry for a while, I was bound to pick something up."

Peter, Blaise and Graham raised their arms up in surrender.

"Sorry bout that." Neville said sheepishly.

"Meh, its fine." Graham replied. "Now that we've established that it is most likely to be the Philosopher's Stone hidden away on the third-floor corridor, they won't just leave it there for any student to come along and take it. They will have traps which will cause you to 'die a most painful death.'" Graham quoted from Dumbledore's announcement.

"We know the first one, a Cerberus guarding a trap door."

"Is he insane?!" Theodore exclaimed in a rare moment. All six of them felt a cold shiver go down their spines as they turned to see Irma Prince staring at them murderously, more specifically, Theodore.

"Be quiet." Her voice was a whisper, but to them it felt like she shouted.

"Y-yes ma'am." The six boys nodded their heads quickly. After studying the boys, she too nodded her head before leaving.

"Bloody hell she's frightening." Blaise whispered getting nods of agreement.

"Right, back to the fact that Dumbledore has a Cerberus in school." Theodore said. "That alone is a powerful trap and if the Cerberus escaped it would kill any student it comes across until it was put down."

"Yea, but no doubt they will have more defences." Blaise added. "The matter is, how are you going to find out what those other defences are?"

"Hedwig and Balthazar will do that for me." Harry said.

"Your pet snake and owl?" Peter's voice was full of bewilderment.

"They're my familiars and each have gained some extra abilities since I first got them." Harry replied simply.

"Like what exactly?" Peter asked.

"I fed each of them part of the Troll and they have gained their own version of a magic resistant hide. Balthazar has gained an ability to completely disappear from one's senses. Hedwig also has an ability to travel through walls and I believe she may also be able to travel through wards, however, I haven't been able to test this theory out yet." Harry said, gaining a few whistles of amazement from the rest of them.

"Forget I asked." Peter said.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Curfew had just been put into effect and there were very few students still out of the common room. Most of them were Prefects with the other small amount being students caught by the Prefects after curfew.

In the past month, Harry had discovered many things about his cloak. The first being that it not only hid his body away from plain sight, but it also masked his smell and any sound he created. This made it perfect for him to sneak in and out of any area; it also seemed that Balthazar's abilities were based off his cloak's.

Moving along the third-floor corridor he walked past the door where Neville ran into the Cerberus. Taking off his cloak, he opened the door slightly to allow Balthazar and Hedwig inside before pulling the cloak back over his head.

Balthazar looked around the room and saw that the only thing present was a Cerberus.

 _§The human child wantsss usss to know the defencesss. I need you to dissstract the dog, so I can get through the door. §_ Balthazar hissed towards Hedwig. The owl turned to look at the anaconda before turning back to the face the Cerberus with her head held high. Balthazar listened to what Hedwig had to say and he stared at her in what could only be bewilderment. _§Really? Your feminine pride isss acting up now. Honessstly, owlsss. Even worssse when they're female. §_

There was a hoot from a Hedwig causing Balthazar to hiss back to her in response.

 _§You were meant to hear that. §_ Balthazar shot back causing Hedwig to huff and hoot. _§Look, can we not do thisss now? Yesss, we will talk to the child about him ssspending more time with you? Yesss, I will make sssure that he ssspendsss more time with you whether he likesss it or not. Yesss, I will ssstop hogging- wait a minute, I do not hog anything! I do not! Ssstop looking at me like that you ssstupid bird! Right, let'sss ssstop thisss now. We have work to do. §_

He went to go towards the Cerberus before a hoot from Hedwig stopped him once more.

 _§Really?! You want me to ssswear an oath on my pride asss a male? Fine, I ssswear on my pride asss a male to ssspeak to the child about your unfair treatment. There, done. You happy? Good, now can we pleassse get on with our job? Yesss? Good. §_ Balthazar slithered forwards only to stop when he heard a growl. _§For fucksss sssake. §_ He turned to face Hedwig. _§I'm blaming you. Yesss you, don't try and act innocent in all thisss. §_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"Did you get them in to the third-floor corridor?" Blaise asked once Harry entered the room. Harry nodded his head and placed his cloak back inside his trunk. "So now we wait?"

"Yes, Blaise. Now we wait." Theodore said from his bed. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Well, I'm sorry." Blaise snarked.

"You two really need to stop arguing." Harry butted in. "It makes you sound like an old married couple." Both boys spluttered causing Harry to burst out in laughter. Slowly calming down, Harry pulled out one of his books and began reading. It was the gift from Theodore.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 _§This is all your fault. Don't even try and argue that it wasn't your fault. §_ Balthazar hissed. The anaconda wasn't exactly happy with the way its current assignment was going. First he had to hide from the Cerberus and try and find a way through the trap door after been abandoned by Hedwig. Then he had to find a way round the Devil's Snare due to the fact that Hedwig didn't wish to get her feathers mucky. Though he suspected that the owl did it on purpose to annoy him further. Then Balthazar had to spend at least five minutes arguing with Hedwig to get the key, but once again he suspected her laziness was due to her wishing to annoy him.

Once Hedwig got the key they went into the next room and had to avoid multiple strikes from the chess pieces. Then they had to go through a pit of fire, luckily Hedwig managed to fly over it, while his scales could withstand the heat.

The final test was a simple mirror.

While on their way back (Hedwig to the owlery and Balthazar to Harry's dorm room) they had run into the poltergeist Peeves. They had been chased all the way down the corridors of Hogwarts and by the end of it were covered in paint and smelt awful due to the dozens of stink pellets.

Entering the dorm room, he saw that Harry was asleep on the bed. Slithering up, Balthazar moved onto the bottom of the bed and curled up in a spiral, allowing his eyes to close as sleep claimed him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Waking up the next morning to an awful smell was a shock to him. Normally the room smelt, well, clean. This time however, it smelt like someone had covered the entire room in manure. It smelt awful. Slowly sitting up in his bed with a groan, Harry looked around his room to see where the smell was coming from. Instantly his eyes narrowed in on Balthazar who was sleeping right now.

 _'Probably one of the traps? Though I doubt someone will stop just because they smell bad.'_ Harry thought. _'It's probably to allow the Professors to know whether someone has tried to steal the stone.'_ With that thought in mind, Harry went out to start his exercises.

His daily run was becoming longer, running a quarter of the black lake before running back and then doing multiple sit-ups and push-ups.

Having a quick shower to get rid of the smell of sweat, he entered quickly began using an air clearing spell to get rid of the smell of manure. Once that was done, Harry woke Blaise and Theodore up before they woke up Balthazar.

 _§Balthazar. §_ Groggily, the anaconda familiar woke up and stared at Harry in confusion. _§Balthazar, what are the defences like? §_

 _§Can't you let me sleep? §_ Balthazar hissed in a hopeful tone. Only to receive a blank stare in response. _§Didn't think so. §_ Sighing, Balthazar rose up. _§The first defence like you said, was a Cerberus guarding a trap door. Then there is drop that leads into a pile of Devil's Snare, I think it was anyway. After that, you have to get a large tattered key out of millions of others with a broom stick. Once you get that one the rest will attack you. Then there is a chess game which you will have to win, me and Hedwig managed to get past due to our smaller size. Next is a riddle, solve it and you can find a potion that will make to immune to fire. Finally, there is a mirror. §_

Harry tensed in shock.

 _'A mirror? Does he mean the Mirror of Erised?'_ Was that the only thing down there, unless Dumbledore had made it so that the Stone was hidden in the mirror? That was the only explanation he could come up with. Nicolas Flamel had something to do with whatever was hidden down there, and Nicolas Flamel has nothing to do with the creation of the Mirror of Erised.

"So, it's guarding a mirror and not the Philosopher's Stone like we believed. Well, that's just fantastic." Blaise muttered.

"Not necessarily. So far each of the defences have been given by a Professor with Dumbledore's close confidence. The first was obviously put in by Hagrid, with help probably from Professor Quirrell. The next, no doubt from Professor Sprout, next one would be from Professor Flitwick, followed by Professor McGonagall." Theodore explained. "The last one would no doubt be from Dumbledore himself, which is probably the mirror."

"So, are any of you willing to go down with me?" Harry asked after a few moments.

"Depends what's in it for us." Blaise said. "What is in it for us?"

"Gold and the fame that comes with saving the Philosopher's Stone. Anything else?" Harry asked.

"An alliance between House Potter and Nott. With your promise of protection and a few favours." Theodore bargained.

"Two favours." Harry suggested gaining a nod of the head from Blaise and Theodore.

"So, it will just be us three in a quest for the Philosopher's Stone." Blaise said in an exaggerated manner.

"And Neville." Harry butted in.

"Yes, and Neville. It just doesn't sound as good. The three Slytherin's and Neville. It just doesn't have the same ring to it." Blaise pouted. Gaining laughter from Theodore and Harry, even Balthazar was laughing, or at least it sounded like he was.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It was finally time for the Slytherin leadership vote. After the Troll incident it had been postponed to allow people more time to think clearly and when their mind was not clouded by fear.

Everyone from Slytherin was in the common room. In the centre stood the Head Prefect for Slytherin house, Jackson Winchester. Harry sat on one of the few sofas in the centre of the room, with Blaise and Theodore sat beside him on either side; behind him stood Peter and Graham.

On the nearby sofa was Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis, the Carrow Twins and Millicent Bulstrode. Then on the furthest sofa sat Draco and his cronies. The Malfoy heir seemed to be quite pale and nervous.

"So, as we all know. The election was postponed due to the Troll incident. However, now it is time to decide. Have we all placed our votes?" No one said a word, something which he took as them saying they had voted. Nodding his head, Jackson continued. "Good." He looked down at the parchment in his hand, unrolling it he began calling out names. They started from the seventh year and then went down. Some of the upper years left after their years leader had been called out. "Finally, the first-year leader is, Hadrian James Potter."

Those that had still remained gave a light applause before dispersing.

Standing up from his seat, Harry walked towards Draco who was frozen in shock at the events.

"What's wrong Draco? You look a little pale." Harry mocked causing Draco to glare at him venomously. He opened his mouth to say something, but then seemed to have thought the better of it as he looked as if he had swallowed something bitter.

"You're right Harry, he does look a little pale." Blaise said from behind him. Harry watched as Blaise leaned forward as if to inspect the Malfoy heir closer. "Perhaps you should go see Madam Pomfrey."

"I doubt she'll be able to do anything." Theodore joined in. "Malfoy's are famous for their pale skin, it comes with their cowardice." Before the year began, Theodore would have never said anything like this to Draco's face for fear of Lucius. However, his father had told him to befriend the Boy-Who-Lived and gave him permission to act as he pleased, as long as it did not bring shame to the Nott family.

Draco glared at them hatefully before standing up and storming out of the common room. Crabbe and Goyle followed after him, while Pansy glared at them too before following the three other boys.

Smirking as they left, Harry turned around and sat back down.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The following weeks were filled with careful planning between the group of six friends. The four that were actually going to get past the traps were Harry, Neville, Blaise and Theodore, while Peter and Graham would cover for them in case they did not make it out by the next day.

They had all agreed to wait until after the exams as to make sure that they didn't have to worry about the exams whilst trying to get the Philosopher's Stone.

With that in mind they had begun to plan on how to get past each of the traps implemented. The first trap, while being quite dangerous, was easily avoided. Most Cerberus' were weak to music; it helped to lull them to sleep. If the Cerberus guarding the trapdoor was not weak to music, it would make things impossible for a first year to ever get past it. Blaise was in charge of making sure this was successful and would stay there to make sure that their exit was secure.

The second trap was Devil's Snare which was easy to get around thanks to Neville's superior knowledge of magical plants. They only had to stay still, and the plant would not register them as being present, or they would have to use its greatest weakness, sunlight. Neville would be in charge of making sure this happened.

The third trap was the keys with broom stick. Harry would use his skills in flying to get the key while Theodore and Neville would wait at the door.

Then came the chess board. Theodore and Harry had agreed to use their tactical minds combined to pass the board.

Finally, was the potion riddle. Theodore had this one covered and, so he would answer the riddle himself. However, after this one, only one person could progress and therefore it had been decided that Harry would be the one to do so.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Transfiguration with the Gryffindor's had just finished. The exams had finished last week and since then the lessons had become a waste of time. Most of it was recapping what they had done over the year and it was surprising to see the number of Gryffindor's that still struggled. Obviously he wasn't the only one as his group of friends had spent a large amount of time wondering how they could be that bad.

It had been even more hilarious when Professor McGonagall had deducted at least a hundred points Ron in a single lesson and then giving him detention for the rest of the year. All because he had tried to cause a fight between himself and Harry who the young Weasley believed to be You-Know-Who.

The Scottish woman had torn into the young Weasley verbally and with each word he had ducked his head in embarrassment. Harry knew then that he could count on the Transfiguration Professor if he ever needed her help.

Now they five of them, Harry, Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham were moving down the corridor.

"We'll see you later." Peter said.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure no one knows you three are gone." Graham assured them. Nodding their heads, Blaise, Theodore and Harry turned left, while Peter and Graham turned right.

As they were walking down they saw Neville waiting at the bottom of Grand Staircase.

"Ready Neville?" Theodore asked. The Hufflepuff looked at the Slytherin before taking a deep breath.

"As well as one can hope to be." He said getting a few smiles of amusement at the Neville-like answer. Despite becoming more confident in himself and establishing himself as the second most gifted first year in practical magic, there were still times when Neville became nervous like his old self.

"Don't worry about it Neville, you're the second most powerful person here right behind our resident smartass." He indicated to Harry who returned by kicking him in the leg. "Ow, don't damage the merchandise. In a few years' time the ladies will love me!" The three others laughed at Blaise's main concern.

"Have you remembered to bring the harp?" Neville asked to Blaise, who nodded and pulled out a small harp, no larger than his palm from his robe.

"Let's get going shall we." The four of them began walking up the stairs until they came to a stop outside the door that led to the third-floor corridor. Theodore, Neville and Blaise looked around to make sure that no one was coming.

"It's quiet for now." Harry nodded his head and pulled out his wand.

 _"Alohomora."_ Harry whispered and from his wand a small bit of magic went into the door's lock. With a small click that indicated the door was now unlocked, pushing it open, he looked in in both directions to see if anyone was there before quickly entering inside followed by the other three.

Closing the door, they looked around before going down towards the right-hand side.

"Neville, which door did you say it would be?" Blaise asked. Neville took the lead, his eyes studying each door they went by before stopping in front of one. "Are you sure it's this one?"

"Pretty sure, though there's only one way to make sure." He pointed his wand at the door and whispered, _"Alohomora."_ The door clicked and the four entered into the room and were instantly assaulted by the sound of music playing.

"Looks like were not the only ones after the Philosopher's Stone." Theodore said his eyes, just like the rest of them was fixated on the three-headed dog sleeping. Its three heads raising slightly as air rushed into its lungs. Slobber hanging from the edge of its mouth.

"No, really. What gave it away?" Neville whispered sarcastically.

"Now is not the time for you to be sarcastic." Theodore shot back. Neville opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw Blaise and Harry walk towards the creature. The Hufflepuff and Slytherin watched as Blaise pulled out his harp and enlarged it before casting a playing spell on it. Harry meanwhile, walked towards the Cerberus and rose his left hand. Copying his action, the paw laid over the trapdoor rose.

Knowing what needed to be done, Theodore and Neville walked forwards and lifted up the trapdoor.

Nodding his head, Neville jumped down first followed by Theodore. Turning to Blaise to make sure that he was ok, he chucked the brown skinned Slytherin his Invisibility cloak as extra insurance.

If a teacher or the Cerberus woke up, Blaise would be protected from been sensed by both. A safety precaution they had taken.

Jumping down through the trapdoor, he immediately was assaulted by the darkness of the room they were in. It made sense, Devil's Snare was weak to light and therefore the room had to be dark. Landing with a grunt, he felt multiple vines begin to coil around him.

"You guys down there?" He shouted.

"Yea, we're down." Theodore shouted back. Nodding his head, Harry took a calming breath as he felt the vines of the Devil's Snare begin to constrict tighter around him. Slowly, the vines began to loosen as he went still. Eventually they loosened completely allowing him to drop to the ground.

Landing in a crouch, Harry got to his feet and stared at Theodore and Neville. The three shared a nod, neither needing to communicate as they walked down the dark path. Their wands outstretched as they used the wand-lighting charm called lumos, to light the path.

Opening the next door, they stopped to take in the room that they were currently in. it was amazing. Hundreds upon hundreds of keys with wings flew around the room. Harry's eyes took in each key, flickering from one to the next until he spotted the one they were looking for. It was old with its wings disfigured and broken.

Walking forwards, Harry looked at the broomstick in the centre of the room.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to find it?" Neville asked. "I'm not doubting your skills or anything. It's just; there's so many."

"I have to agree with Neville on this one." Theodore continued. Harry gripped hold of the broom and swung his leg over the top. Instantly the keys shifted their priorities from flying aimlessly, to attacking Harry.

Neville and Theodore quickly ran to the door, while Harry kicked off the ground. The broom he was on shot into the air at great speeds.

"He's never going to be able to find it." Neville spoke up as they watched Harry fly through the air at great speeds with skill they didn't know he possessed.

"No wait." Theodore stopped Neville before he could become too disheartened. "He seems to be flying towards something." Both looked closer to see that Harry was in fact flying towards a single key. The only key that wasn't flying after him, but instead flying away from him.

Harry leaned forwards, pushing the broom to fly faster. It did so, and he reached out his hand. With a yell of triumph as he gripped hold of the key, he leaned to one side causing him to spin down towards the ground.

Neville and Theodore prepared themselves for what was about to happen. There were many things that could possibly go wrong, but two problems stood out the most. The first thing that could go wrong was that neither would catch the key and the whole thing would start again. The second was that they would catch the key, but Harry wouldn't be able to turn away quick enough causing some of the keys to kill them.

It was all a matter of what could happen and what will happen.

Harry got closer and closer and chucked the key towards them. Once it was free, it began to fly. However, due to it been held tightly in Harry's grasp, it's already damaged wings were damaged even further. So, it could no longer fly as high as it once could.

Thankfully the height it could fly out was low enough for Neville, the tallest of the friends to jump up and catch the key in his hand.

Landing on the ground he passed it to Theodore who unlocked the door and rushed inside.

"Harry!" Neville shouted before he also ran inside. The Boy-Who-Lived used a series of loop-the-loops, sharp turns and dives to avoid the keys, while getting closer to the door. As soon as he was close he placed his feet on the back of the broom before leaping forwards through the door. Neville and Theodore at the same time were also beginning to the close door.

They timed it perfectly, for as soon as he got past the door it had closed behind him. All three of them listened to the sound of the keys impacting against the door causing dull thud sounds.

"You good?" Theodore asked. Taking a shaky breath, he nodded his head, the adrenaline still pumping through his body. "Right, let's get going then." The three moved forwards into the room until they came across a large chessboard. All around it were the broken remains of multiple chess pieces. However, on the chessboard itself, were the pawns, knights, rooks, bishops, queen and the king, but on the black side a bishop, knight and queen side castle were open.

"So, who wants to be whom?" Harry asked. Neville walked forwards, taking the place of the queen side castle, Theodore went next and took the position of the rook. Leaving only a knight remaining. The whites went first and moved one of their knights to F-3.

"I guess I'll start things off." Theodore said. "Knight to C-6." The knight Harry was on moved forwards till it was in its assigned position. Things continued with it starting out slow, both sides simply moving their pieces into position. Then things got really heated up. Sides were losing pawns left and right. Bishops, rooks and knights going all over the place.

Theodore worked to isolate and defeat the White Queen, the most dangerous piece on the enemy's side. Once that was done, they managed to use their own Queen with dangerous effect. The small amount of pawns they had left, they used as bait to draw in the enemy's stronger pieces into a trap. Eventually they managed to corner the White King and put him in checkmate.

"Rook to F-6." Neville moved forward and instantly the White King's sword dropped to the ground as a result of it been put into checkmate. Harry was a little ways behind it, covering what areas Neville couldn't reach along with a pawn, another knight and a bishop.

Giving a sigh of relief the three stepped off the chessboard and began walking towards the door at the other end.

"That was tiring." Neville said. Harry and Theodore nodded their heads in agreement. It wasn't physically draining, but the amount of mental effort they had to put in to stay one step ahead was difficult. Even when there was two very intellectual people, and a person of slightly above average intelligence.

They walked through the door and into a dimly lit room; using the wand-lighting charm to help them see through the dark. They were on constant alert for something to attack them, but nothing happened. Either this was to inspire false hope into any would-be trespasser or they had never got around to create an extra defence. It was probably both.

The next room they came across was brightly lit, illuminating a small table with seven bottles on it. On the end was a single piece of parchment that was slightly unrolled revealing some writing.

Harry walked through first and just as he did, purple flames sprung up and stopped Neville and Theodore from getting through.

"Neville, Theo! You guys alright?" Harry asked.

"Yea, we're fine." Neville answered. Harry nodded his head and moved forward towards the table. Once he reached it, he picked up the parchment and read through it.

"What does it say?" Theodore asked over the fire.

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind you, two of us will help you, whichever you would find, one among us seven will let you move forwards, another will transport the drinker back instead, two among our number hold only nettle wine, three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line. Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore, To help you in your choice, we give you these four clues: First, however slyly the poison tries to hide, you will always find some on nettle wine's left side; second, different are those who stand at either end, but if you would move onward, neither is your friend; third, as you see clearly, all are different sizes, neither dwarf nor giants hold death in their insides; fourth, the second left and the second on the right are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

Theodore closed his eyes and allowed himself to think over what Harry had said.

 _'So, there are two potions that are nettle wine, three that are poison and two that will help you walk through the fire.'_ Theodore thought. _'The second on the left and second on the right taste the same but look different. They must be nettle wine.'_

Theodore looked over the fire and saw that the first bottle on the left definitely contained poison; as would the fifth one from the left.

"Harry, the second and the sixth ones are nettle wine." Harry looked at the nettle wines, before throwing them onto the ground. The liquid inside spilled out on the floor and the bottles lay in pieces.

 _'Poison will always be on the left-hand side of the nettle wine. Meaning that the first and the fifth are poisons.'_ Theodore nodded his head, agreeing with his deduction. "The first and the fifth are poisons." Nodding his head, Harry also chucked the two bottles on the ground. _'That leaves only the third, fourth and seventh bottles. So, if you moved onward neither would be your friend. The first one is poison, meaning that the end one is the potion to bring you back.'_ He went through the thought a few more times in his head to make sure that he was correct before telling Harry. "The end one is the potion to bring you back and the third one is the one to bring you back."

Harry moved forward and picked the end potion up and placed it in his robes before drinking the third one.

The three waited for a few moments to make sure that it was the right one and to also give the potion time to take effect. Once it had done, Harry walked forward towards the fire that blocked off the entrance that led onwards. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he stepped forwards through the fire.

Coming out on the other end, Harry released a sigh of relief that it had worked. Turning back to Neville and Theodore he called out, "you two, go back to Blaise. I'll be quick."

"What about the other person who's down here?" Neville questioned, and Harry cursed internally. He had forgotten about the second harp that had been playing. Hopefully, it had been put there by the Professors to allow to keep the Cerberus asleep during the day.

"I'll try and catch him by surprise." Harry replied. Both nodded their heads as a sign of good luck before they walked away.

Harry entered the largest of all the rooms they had been in. His eyes roaming around to see that multiple steps led down to the centre of the room where the Mirror of Erised stood proudly – with, shockingly – Professor Quirrell stood before it.

"Where is it?!" He heard Professor Quirrell seethe.

"I need that Stone!" A raspy almost snakelike voice said back to the Professor, who in turn ducked his head like a child being scolded by his mother. The most shocking thing about the voice though, was where it was coming from: The back of the Professor's head.

"Forgive me master." Quirrell said back.

"I don't want your apology! I want that Stone!" To Harry, the person speaking sounded much like a child who wasn't getting what he wanted.

Preparing himself, Harry drew his wand. He wasn't the only one that wanted the Stone, now he knew that he would definitely have to get the surprise on the Professor. He didn't know why, but for some reason the second snakelike voice sounded familiar. Too familiar, and the separate entity in his head seemed to call out to Professor Quirrell. Luckily, his mental defences stopped that from happening as the only advantage he had; was surprise.

 _"Diffindo! Depulso! Bombarda!"_ He shouted and with it the spell taught to him by Professor Flitwick shot forwards and shot towards the Professor. It was a spell chain the Charm's professor had taught him after he learned the Bombarda spell. It was a perfect spell chain that worked perfectly.

The severing charm would cut the target, the banishing charm would knock the person off balance and the exploding charm would break the enemy's bones. That was if the enemy didn't get a shield up in time. If they did, then the severing charm would weaken the shield enough for the banishing charm to knock the enemy back, then the exploding charm would be aimed to destroy the ground at the enemy's feet. This would cause debris to break through the shield and hit the enemy. After all, a shielding charm defended against magic attacks, not physical.

Professor Quirrell heard the spells being cast and quickly turned around and summoned up a shielding charm. When the first spell struck his shield, he straightened up to his full height and allowed the second to strike his shield. Confident in the fact it would do nothing to him. He was surprised when he was knocked back and was then assaulted by the debris from the exploding charm.

With a grunt, Professor Quirrell stepped backwards covering his face from the debris.

"Move you fool!" His master's voice screamed at him and he did so, just as he heard the next three spells.

 _"Afflicto! Eviscero! Obtrunco Deripio!"_ The Bone-Breaking curse splattered harmlessly against the ground. Luckily for him he rolled across the ground and avoided the Entrail-Expelling curse; however, the Mutilating curse struck his hand and completely severed it.

With a scream of pain, he turned around and fired the first spell that came to mind.

 _"Avada Kedavra!"_ He roared, and the Killing curse shot forwards. Harry marvelled at the colour of the spell that was the same colour as his eyes before leaping to the side.

"No, you fool! Do not harm him!" The voice stopped the Professor from doing anything further to harm Harry. Something for which, the Boy-Who-Lived was grateful for. That single spell had nearly killed him. Yet it took six of his spells to only remove a single hand. "Let me speak with him."

"Master you are not strong enough." Quirrell tried to argue.

"Do it!" The voice commanded. Shakily, Quirrell turned around and Harry had to stop himself from attacking with the opportunity presented to him. However, curiosity won him over and he watched as the DADA Professor undid his turban, revealing a second face.

A face he instantly recognised from his mind after the Troll incident.

"Hello, Harry Potter." The voice said.

"Do I know you, you seem familiar, but I do not recognise you?" Harry questioned.

"My name is Lord Voldemort!" The head exclaimed. Harry raised his eyebrow; was that meant to fill him with awe and dread?

"Aren't you meant to be dead?" Harry replied in a deadpan tone of voice killing the dramatic mood that had followed after Lord Voldemort's exclamation.

"My master cannot be killed by you. He is a God!" Professor Quirrell shouted in outrage.

"You have some serious hero worship; that's not healthy." Harry said in a matter of fact tone. "I would suggest going to see a doctor about that."

"Why you little…"

"Enough Quirrell." Voldemort said in his commanding tone. "Come here boy."

"You must think I'm stupid. As soon as I get close you will just try and kill me. What I meant to say was that you would get your pet to kill me." Harry corrected himself quickly. While he couldn't see Quirrell's face, he knew the man was angry by the way he tensed.

"I promise you that no harm will come to you. After all, we both want the same thing." Harry tensed and clamped down on his mind just in case Voldemort had somehow managed to read his mind. "That is why you're here isn't it; the Stone?" Voldemort continued. "Join me Potter, and together we could rule the world as equals. I could teach you magic beyond your wildest dreams and help you accomplish all your goals."

"Tempting offer, but I'll have to decline." Harry said, however, he still walked forwards to stand beside Professor Quirrell. Not because he wished to help Voldemort get the Stone, but because he wished to look in the mirror once more.

"What do you see?" Voldemort questioned. Harry looked into the mirror to see the image the same as before. He and his parents stood together on top of a mountain of bodies. But he also saw Neville, Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham in the image as well. Each were older and wore armour. Another thing that was different was the Stone on his right gauntlet. In the centre was the same black one, but one below it was a smooth, red stone. He pulled out the Stone and Harry watched as it became larger and jagged.

His mirror self smiled and he (mirror) de-aged before his eyes until he was an exact replica of himself (original). His mirror self raised the Stone and placed inside his robe. Instantly he felt a weight in the exact place his mirror self put it.

"What do you see?" Voldemort questioned again, however this time his voice was edged with frustration. Smirking at the thought in his mind, Harry spoke.

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks." He mocked, causing Voldemort to hiss in outrage.

Leaping towards Quirrell he lashed out with a punch to the man's face knocking him off-balance before following it up with a wandless and nonverbal banishing charm. Knowing that escaping from Quirrell now would be futile, he drew his wand and fired a Bone-Breaking curse at the man's wand hand. It struck true as the man dropped his wand to the ground with a scream.

It was then Harry took in the Professor's pale complexion. His mind instantly locked onto the fact that blood was still dripping from the man's severed hand. Harry quickly rushed back towards the entrance.

Hearing a scream, he turned around to see a shadowy outline of Voldemort flying towards him. The creature entered him and quickly he found himself dragged into his mindscape.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry quickly found himself on top of Barad-dûr. The Eye of Sauron above him was looking upwards. That was good, it meant that he had not got past the first defence. Quickly, Harry began to organise his mind.

Drawing magic towards him.

He didn't have any magical creatures beyond Centaurs in the magical forest. Hopefully, that would slow him down even longer. He could already feel Voldemort getting closer to the actual bottle.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

When he had first thought of possessing the Boy-Who-Lived, he had expected it to be easy. He had expected there to be no mental defences and so would allow him to possess the boy easily. In doing so, it would act to spite Dumbledore.

However, when he entered the boy's mind, he found himself in a small wooden room with only two shelves. On the top shelf were three bottles, and on the bottom was four. Each of them filled with black smoke. It was a very impressive defence; very impressive for a boy his age. Not even he had been anywhere near this level of Occlumency shields when he was double Potter's age.

Obviously, inside one was the boy's real mind. It was just a question of which one.

Moving forwards, he allowed what little magic he had to reach out and touch each of the bottles. Five of them felt familiar to him, but two felt completely foreign. Reaching forward he touched one of the bottles that felt different, believing they held the boys real mind and was instantly assaulted with the image of boy killing the Troll.

Pulling back with a shock, he tried once more.

Three different bottles he tried. Each of them were ones that felt familiar to him, but all he got was darkness and screaming. Trying once more, he reached forward and touched the only one that didn't feel familiar that he hadn't tried and wasn't disappointed as he felt closer to the boy's mind.

The place he found himself in was filled with fog. A very thick fog.

Moving quickly, he had to be careful to avoid trees and also watch the ground to make sure he avoided the tree's roots. He stopped though when he felt a shift in the air. Galloping soon reached his ears.

Quickly he hid behind a tree. He saw a Centaur race past the position he once was. A Centaur! The Boy-Who-Lived was truly a talented individual.

While he detested hiding, he knew that to fight mental defences such as these in his current weakened state was foolish. If he did so he would be pushed out instantly. So, he sneaked around, though he had the feeling that the Centaurs knew exactly what he was doing and were simply waiting. Or something was out there waiting for him.

Looking ahead of him he saw that the fog was beginning to become lighter, so he made a quick dash in that direction, knowing that if he stayed any longer in there it would cause him to get caught.

Once he made it out of the forest he found himself on a slightly raised ground. Looking down he saw a mountain range in the distance with a very large and wide river running freely. Truly, the Potter boy had paid a lot of attention to the details of his mind. It just goes to show how talented the boy was in Occlumency.

He went to move forwards, but he felt something wrap around his neck before he was pulled back to the ground. Clutching at the roughly formed rope around his neck, he looked upwards to see at least a hundred Centaurs, all stood proudly at the edge of the forest.

Except for the one holding the rope that was wrapped around his neck, the rest all had bows drawn back with arrows pointed at him. With a roar, Voldemort was expelled from the boy's mind as the arrows pierced his spectral body.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

With a groan, Harry pulled himself to his feet and watched as the wraith-like form of Voldemort was expelled from his body and with a scream disappeared behind the door.

With deep heaving breaths, Harry dragged himself through the chambers one by one until he came to the chamber that had Devil's Snare in it. His vision was blurring slightly. The adrenaline had long since worn off, that and the amount of magic he had used in his short fight against Professor Quirrell/Voldemort had taken its toll upon him.

While he had only used six spells in total, the final four where by far the most taxing. Each of the spells had been overpowered so as to maximize their effectiveness against the shield Professor Quirrell had erected. Even when he stood beside the possessed Professor, he had felt exhaustion creeping up on him. Thankfully the adrenaline and channelling a bit of magic throughout his body kept him standing, despite his body protesting against such an action.

"Neville! Blaise! Theodore!" He shouted upwards. Harry waited for a few moments, his eyes growing heavy as his legs began to shake from the exertion of staying upright. Neither of the three gave him any indication they heard him, or were even up there. His mind began to wander; perhaps Voldemort had done something to them, or perhaps the Cerberus had.

"You alright Harry? You look a little tired." Blaise said as he popped his head over the edge of the trapdoor.

Giving a sigh of relief, Harry dropped to his knees. Despite what they said, those three up there were the only people he trusted explicitly. He trusted no one more than them three. Perhaps he was wrong in believing that being alone was the best solution.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Opening his eyes, Harry sat up to see that Blaise and Theodore were already up and getting dressed. Groaning, Harry got out of bed and made his way towards the bathroom for a quick shower. Once he had done, he found that Blaise and Theodore had already finished getting changed and were currently reading.

"You won't believe what happened after you three went down through the trapdoor." Blaise said, more to Harry than Theodore who obviously knew what was going to happen.

"What?"

"Weasley and Granger turned up."

"Why?"

"Dunno, but they must have passed by Neville and Theodore at some point because they came up half hour after they went down. Before Neville could get under the cloak however, McGonagall came in. They went down back into the trapdoor and when they came up she gave them a right telling off." Blaise explained.

"So, they didn't see you?" Theodore shook his head.

"From what I heard, they were talking about how they made it past the chessboard." That made Harry freeze. If they had made it into the next room and passed that test he would have been found and so would his ploy.

"Why were they even there and how did they even know about it in the first place?" Harry asked quickly, before a look of realisation came over him. Hermione had been there with Susan and Neville, so she would have kept it secret. That didn't answer why Weasley was with her.

"So, what exactly happened after the Potion riddle?" Theodore asked curiously.

"Yeah, I've never seen you so exhausted before." Blaise continued, Harry nodded.

"Professor Quirrell happened." Blaise and Theodore snorted, believing that Harry was joking. That was until they saw that he wasn't laughing; he was in fact serious.

"Wait! You're serious!" Blaise exclaimed. "We are on about the same stuttering, utterly useless Professor Quirrell."

"Yes, Blaise. That Professor Quirrell." Harry said, his voice filled with mirth at Blaise's apt description of the DADA Professor.

"Now that Blaise has made sure we are on about the only Professor Quirrell that we know about." Here, Blaise glared at Theodore in mock anger. "What happened?" Harry mulled over what he could and would say.

"Professor Quirrell was there to get the Stone for his master; he didn't say who." He elaborated when he saw Blaise's inquiring stare. "I attacked him first, but then we talked for a bit. However, that then turned into a fight again and last I saw him he was on the ground with his left hand severed and right hand broken." Harry informed before going into a bit more detail about the fight.

"So, Professor Quirrell, who we believed to be a stuttering fool, is in fact a Dark Wizard who used an Unforgivable?" Harry nodded his head. "Ok. Next question. Did you get the Stone?"

 _§Balthazar. §_ Harry hissed. His anaconda familiar slithered across the ground and wrapped around his neck. Balthazar opened his mouth and regurgitated up a ruby red stone into Harry's hand. Blaise and Theodore moved in closer to get a better look. "This, my friends, is the Philosopher's Stone." Harry said proudly.

"It's beautiful." Blaise whispered with Theodore nodding his head in agreement.

The three took a few more moments on all the possible things they could do, now that they had the Philosopher's Stone, before they made their way down to the Great Hall. To their surprise they found that it was decorated with the sigil of Slytherin house.

Many of the students were already sat at their house table, chatting animatedly amongst one another. The three of them, along with those students that had not yet sat down, did so.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked to Peter and Graham.

"Don't know. It was like this when we came in." Peter answered. Harry tuned out what they said after that and looked towards Hufflepuff table to see Neville talking with Susan and Hannah. The two shared a nod. Before anything else could be said, Professor McGonagall repeatedly tapped her spoon against the side of her goblet attracting the attention of the student body.

"Welcome. I know many of you are wondering why we are doing this now. Even though there is still two weeks remaining till the end of the school year. However, recent events that have caused us to lose a valued member of our staff." All students looked to the empty seat that once belonged to Professor Quirrell. "So, we have decided to end the school term early."

Most if not all students cheered loudly at the piece of information and Dumbledore stood there, smiling at them all.

"Another year, gone." Dumbledore began after the chatter quietened. "And now as I understand it, the House cup needs awarding and the points stand thus." Harry for some reason found himself thoroughly amused by the disheartened look that came across Ron Weasley's face. The boy deserved it in his opinion. "In fourth place, Gryffindor with three hundred and twelve points. Third place, Hufflepuff with three hundred and fifty-two points. In second place, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty-six points." Each announcement earned a polite applause, with Ravenclaw gaining a few cheers. "And in first place with four hundred seventy-two points, Slytherin house."

The remaining houses gave very light applauses, obviously only doing it because it was the polite thing to do. Many of the first, second and third year Slytherin's cheered loudly.

"Yes, yes, well done Slytherin, well done Slytherin. Recent events must be taken into account and I have a few last minute points to award." All students looked around in confusion. "To Miss Hermione Granger. For your keen intellect and quick thinking in the face of overwhelming danger and your forethought to warn you're Head of House, I award you a hundred points." There was a large round of applause from everyone in the room. "Secondly, to Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best played game of chess which Hogwarts's has seen these many years, I award you, fifty points." There was another round of applause.

Harry quickly did the math in head and realised that Gryffindor were now in second, only ten points behind Slytherin.

"And finally, to Mr Neville Longbottom. For your excellent knowledge of Herbology and your courage and loyalty to your friends. I award you, fifty points." Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly tone of voice.

"Despite these new points, Slytherin is still the winner of the House cup, so please, another round of applause for this year's winners." The point system meant nothing to him however, the fact that points were not awarded to him, Blaise or Theodore showed either that Dumbledore was unaware of the three of them being down there, or he knew but was not going to give them anything.

He looked to Dumbledore and he watched the elderly man tip his head in his direction. It infuriated him, he couldn't tell what he was thinking. Deciding to let this go for now, Harry turned to his friends and together they began speaking about the plans they had for the summer holidays.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Dumbledore looked at the students around the Great Hall and found himself smiling benevolently. Sitting down, he piled on some bacon, sausages and eggs. His eyes wandered around the Great Hall, until he felt a pair of eyes upon his own. Looking in the direction he saw that it was Harry Potter who was staring at him. He returned the stare and inclined his head in the boy's direction.

Watching the boy turn back to his friends, his mind wandered to what happened to the Philosopher's Stone.

When he returned from his meeting with the Wizengamot he had found that Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom had gone down to rescue the Stone. The first two he expected because of the compulsion charm he had placed on Hermione Granger. The compulsion charm made her want to tell Ronald Weasley.

He had hoped that Hermione would tell Harry, who would in turn join them. However, it seems that despite her recent success in joining Harry's study group, she wasn't able to tell him; but it seems Neville was more than willing to take the Boy-Who-Lived's place.

That was good news, at least one of the two boys born as July neared its end had the necessary qualities to be his puppet in later events.

The thing that had been the most annoying had been the apparent disappearance of the Philosopher's Stone. Professor Quirrell had been killed by blood loss and Voldemort had disappeared. According to Minerva, Neville was the only one, besides Ronald and Hermione that had been down the trapdoor. Meaning that Neville was the only one who could have possibly killed Quirrell.

That had surprised him. From what he had heard, the boy had made leaps and bound in terms of his education, but not enough to have defeated Quirrell. Least of all, a Quirrell possessed by Voldemort.

That part of the puzzle was troubling. As he did not know who killed Quirrell.

The whereabouts of the Philosopher's Stone was also unknown to him. Even when he lightly scanned the Longbottom heir's mind, he had got nothing. It seems the boy had some training in Occlumency. Which meant that he had no clue what happened to the Philosopher's Stone.

Explaining this would be difficult to his old master and his wife. Originally he planned to say he had lost it, while using it for his own means. They would have been more understanding of that as they tended to lose many things, but due to their vast knowledge and wealth could easily replace what was lost. The Philosopher's Stone had apparently been created by accident and Nicolas had never been able to recreate it.

That's why he needed it. Nicolas was content to do nothing with unlimited time in his grasp. He, however, planned to use endless time to make sure that his dream world would never end.

Now that he had no idea where it was, he would have to tell the Flamels what happened to their prized possession. He could only hope that Perenelle would be gentle in the punishment she would give him. Dumbledore wouldn't bet on it though, she could be quite fearsome once you got on her bad side.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry, Theodore, Blaise, Peter and Graham were one of the first to get on the train and get a compartment. Their stuff packed and placed on the shelves above. Terry was the next one to come in, followed by Susan, Hannah and then Neville being the last one.

The train ride back was much more enjoyable than the one here. Susan and Hannah sat talking amongst each other, occasionally joined by Harry and the others. Peter, Graham, Blaise, Theodore, Terry and Neville would play a mix of Exploding Snap and Wizards chess. Harry meanwhile, would spend most his time thinking upon what he could do with the Philosopher's Stone, while occasionally joining in with the others.

His mind was set on three things.

The first was to keep it for himself and maybe share some of the gold he gained as a result with the Goblins to gain their favour. The next was to return it to the Flamels in return for a constant supply of the Elixir of Life. However, his mind was mainly focused on the third choice. Where he returns the stone in return for training at the hands of the Flamels.

No doubt the Flamels had learnt more than just Alchemy in their long lifetime. He wished to learn that knowledge to rise to greater power.

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I was wondering if you would all write a review, even if it's just a simple "good chapter," or anything of the like just to let me know that the fic should be continued. Also, if you have any questions about this chapter please let me know and I'll answer them in the next one.**

 **As for what happened in the duel, please let me know what I could do to improve it because it was my first time writing one. Keep in mind though, that Quirrell was unsuspecting of Harry's attack and his knowledge of Dark Magic something he does not expect of the Light factions 'poster boy.' Then there is the fact that Harry is a prodigy of magic, greater than even Dumbledore and Voldemort were at his age, as they have stated.**

 **As for what happened with Ron and Hermione. The reason Ron knows about it is because of Dumbledore, however, Ron and Hermione try to save whatever was down there, but Hermione told a painting who in turn told Professor McGonagall.**


	6. The Flamel's and the Dueling Tournament

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 5: The Flamel's and the Duelling Tournament**

 **A/N: The poll is now closed so these are the results.**

 **1) Fleur Delacour: 132 votes.**

 **2) Susan Bones: 119 votes.**

 **3) Tracey Davis/Nymphadora Tonk: 106 votes.**

 **4) Oc: 65 votes.**

 **5) Hermione Granger: 50 votes.**

 **So, Fleur and Susan along with Daphne are in the harem. Just to let you know, romance is not my greatest aspect so please forgive me if it isn't as good as other authors write the romance aspect of the story.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 _"Announcer"_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Upon arriving at the Kings Cross Station, Harry quickly used Neville's and Theodore's taller than average frames as cover. His friends chuckled at Harry's current predicament. All knew that while Harry wasn't shy of his fame, it didn't mean he had to like the attention he would constantly receive.

Susan and Hannah were the first to break off from their group. Both having spotted their parents - or guardian in Susan's case - talking to one another. Then it was Terry, Peter and Graham. Each of them wishing the small group of four a nice holiday. The four continued to push through the crowds, until they found the people they were looking for.

Neville's grandmother, Augusta, was just like he remembered. Stern looking with out of date robes. Neville's father, was much like Theodore in terms of lankiness and height however, it was obvious that most of his looks came from his mother. Blaise on the other hand, was dark skinned, though she had a lighter skin colour. Despite showing a few signs of aging, for example, a few wrinkles. She was still very beautiful.

Besides them all coming from different factions, each of the parents welcomed his three friends in different ways. Augusta gave Neville a brief hug, ending far too quickly to give any thought of how she felt about her grandson.

Blaise's mother was very affectionate, hugging him tightly and even giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mrs Nott was similar to that of Augusta, while Mr Nott simply gave a tight nod in Theodore's direction. One which was returned equally as stiff.

"So, you are the great Harry Potter?" Mr Nott said in questioning. Harry looked into the man's cold and indifferent gaze and responded with his own.

"Harry Potter, yes. The great Harry Potter, no." Harry replied. Mr Nott nodded his head in turn. Allowing the Potter heir to know that he had passed the first test, the test to see if he was too arrogant and believed in his title. If Harry had, Lord Nott would have no desire to form an alliance.

"Any plans for the holiday, Heir Potter?" Mrs Zabini asked.

"Yes, I plan to travel to France and spend my time there for the holiday." Here Neville, Theodore and Blaise smirked, knowing exactly what Harry planned to do. "I also plan to compete in the Duelling tournament held there."

"Duelling? I didn't think you were into that." Augusta answered.

"I don't, but I wish to be remembered for being something more than just the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry replied strongly.

"Then we shall come watch you." Neville said, before nervously looking towards his grandmother, the woman in question simply gave a roll of her eyes before nodding her head in agreement.

"Yes, we shall." Now she turned to face her grandson. "We have to get home. I wish you the best of luck Harry, Lord and Lady Nott, Lady Zabini." With that Augusta left, but not before Neville said goodbye to the others.

"I believe we shall also follow Lady Longbottom's direction." Lady Nott said, gaining nods from her husband to Mrs Zabini.

"See you around Harry." Theodore said.

"Yea, perhaps I might come watch you in the duelling tournament." Blaise continued. Lady Zabini simply smiled at her son before dragging him away.

Harry watched them go, feeling a sense of hollowness in his heart. Watching three families together, it made him feel alone. He clenched his fists tightly at the thought of his lack of family. One day, he vowed. One day he would have people he could call family. It was only a matter of time.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Diagon Alley was quieter than it was at the start of the school term, but was much busier than it was during the Christmas holiday. Thankfully, his baseball hat kept his scar and eyes hidden from the world. Meaning, he looked like an ordinary child, albeit one with magical abilities, making him anything but normal.

Entering Gringotts, he walked towards the centre desk, just like when he was first here. The Goblin was once again completely oblivious to the wizard in front of him.

"I'm here to see my account manager." Harry spoke up. The Goblin looked up, studied him and then nodded his head. A Goblin soon appeared and led Harry back down towards his account manager's room. Upon entering the room, he found Ripclaw already waiting for him, behind him as well were four other Goblins, each going through their own stack of papers.

"Ah, Harry, it is nice to see you again." Ripclaw announced, Harry took note of the sneer that crossed the faces of the other Goblins in the room at the mention of his name.

"Yes, it is good to see you too, Ripclaw. It seems you've gone up in the world however, they don't seem to like me very much." Harry declared. Ripclaw chuckled in amusement before turning back to face the other Goblins. He must have done something as they quickly bowed their heads and went back to work.

"They are the previous account managers of your other accounts. However, since you gave me ownership over their managing they went without a job for a while, as you can tell." Here they both looked at the Goblins. "They weren't exactly happy. Now though, they work for me." Nodding his head, both Harry and Ripclaw took a seat on separate sides of the table.

"So, what have you got for me?" Harry asked. Ripclaw smirked savagely and pulled out a piece of paper. He checked over it for a minute, making sure that everything that needed to be on there was there before handing it over. Taking it, Harry began to read through it.

 **Identity:**

 _Hadrian James Potter._

 **Immediate Family:**

 _James Potter, Lily (Evans) Potter._

 **Lordships:**

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay_

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw._

 _The Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Albion._

 **Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter:**

 _Potter Main Vault: 2,469,217 Galleons, 10 Sickles, 490 Knuts, including family Grimoire._

 _Potter Trust Vault: 1,080 Galleons, 5 Sickles, 200 Knuts._

 _Potter Manor and fifty acres of surrounding land._

 _Diagon Alley Shops:_

 _2nd Hand Brooms, Amanuensis Quills, Apothecary, Broomstix, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Junk Shop, Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions, Magical Menagerie, Obscurus Books, Potage's Cauldron Shop, Rosa Lee Teabags, Scribbulus Writing Instruments, Second-Hand Bookshop, Second-Hand Robes, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Sugarplum's Sweet Shop, TerrorTours, Twilfitt and Tatting's._

 _Knockturn Alley Shops:_

 _Beard Trimming, Chimney Sweep Elf, The Coffin House, Dystyl Phaelanges, E.L.M and Wizards Undertakers & Embalmers, Fledermaus and Tanner Bats & Skins, Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos, McHavelock's Wizarding Headgear, Moribund's, Noggin and Bonce, Tallow and Hemp Toxic Tapers, Trackleshanks Locksmith, Shyyverwretch's Venoms and Poisons, The Spiny Serpent, The Starry Prophesier, The White Wyvern, Wizarding Supplies, Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and Msaw Ætare._

 **Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Peverell:**

 _Peverell Main Vault: 7,340 Galleons. 10,000 books including the family Grimoire and 100,000,000 Galleons in liquidated treasures._

 _Seventy-Five acres of land (currently been built upon)._

 **Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Le Fay:**

 _Le Fay Main Vault: 306,900 Galleons, 25,700 Sickles including family heirloom, library and Grimoire._

 _Le Fay Manor and Godric's Hollow_

 **Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw:**

 _Ravenclaw Main Vault: 482,600 Galleons, 37,159 Sickles and Family library and Grimoire._

 _Hogsmeade and forty acres of land in the surrounding area (currently being built upon)._

 **Assets of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House Albion:**

 _Albion Main Vault: Family heirloom, library and Grimoire._

 _Island of Albion (currently being built upon)._

"You've done well, very well." Harry said in awe at what his Account Manager had accomplished.

"We Goblins can do anything we put our minds to; if properly motivated." Harry knew exactly what Ripclaw meant by motivation, money.

"Thank you, your help shall not go unrewarded." Harry pulled out a red stone, one which Ripclaw instantly recognised, if the widening of his eyes was anything to go by. "The Philosophers Stone, said to be able to turn anything into gold with a single touch." At the mention of gold, the rest of the Goblins stopped what they were doing and looked up. "While I will not give to you to keep, I'm sure lending it to you for the remainder of the two weeks will do me no harm. After all, the summer holidays do not start until that time." Ripclaw nodded his head and dumbly took the stone. It was amusing to watch.

"Then I shall put this stone to good use. Are we keeping to our earlier agreement?" Ripclaw asked. Harry shook his head. The earlier agreement was that Ripclaw would gain thirty percent of any profit earned by Harry, while the remaining seventy percent would go to the boy himself.

"No, you can use sixty percent of the gold for your own uses. While I want forty percent to be transferred into the Potter Main Vault. In return for this, I want the location of the Flamel's." Ripclaw studied Harry for a few moments before giving a terrifying smirk.

"Then consider this a deal well struck." Harry and Ripclaw shook hands, something that was rare to see amongst wizards and Goblins. "Have you got your Portkey from Moribund's?"

"Yea, I got it in the Yule break." Harry soon left afterwards and just like in Harry's first visit, Ragnok entered the room.

"What has this visit awarded us with?" Ragnok asked while walking towards the desk. Ripclaw placed the Philosopher's Stone down on the table and Ragnok brought it up to his eyes. "The boy surprises me more and more. With this, dear brother we can bring our family back to its former glory. Goblin and Wizards alike will fear the descendants of Urg the Unclean once more." Ragnok grinned savagely, all the while Ripclaw stared at him.

 _'You always followed after father, brother. However, I am my mother's son and when you least expect it, I shall kill you for what you did.'_ Ripclaw thought.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Once he landed, Harry looked at the piece of rope in his hand. He had heard that travelling by Portkey was uncomfortable, like a hook somewhere behind the navel pulling him. Luckily, he managed to stand upright, even though it was his first time travelling by Portkey. It seems the key to all magical travelling was to begin walking as soon as you started using magical transportation, except for the Knight Bus.

Looking around, he saw himself in the French Ministry of Magic. Unlike the British Ministry of Magic, it was built out of white marble instead of black stone. However, the layout was similar with a few differences. More specifically the methods of entering the Ministry building and the statues.

Walking forwards, he came towards a large line of check-in desks. The woman behind the desk looked up from her clipboard after finishing writing what needed to be done.

"Next." Walking forwards, he watched the woman place down her clipboard. "Wand please." Handing over his wand, the woman cast a spell upon it, and Harry watched as his name appeared upon the paper. "Hadrian James Potter; that is your name?" Harry nodded his head. "How long are you staying?"

"I'm staying till the Duelling tournament is over with, but I might be staying longer." The woman nodded her head and handed him back his wand. She picked up the clipboard and wrote down what he said.

"Ok, once the duelling tournament is over with I need you to come back and go to Magical Tourism Office and tell them of your extended stay." Harry nodded his head. "Please step through here." Harry did so and felt magic pass through him. "Right, I hope you enjoy your stay."

Harry allowed his mind to think over what had happened over the previous two weeks. Ripclaw had made a large profit, a total of one hundred thousand galleons, and was still making more from the all the gold he had earned. However, he had looked on-edge, as if something was bothering him. It was confusing and worrying. What could make a hardened Goblin like Ripclaw nervous?

Not only that, but Ripclaw may have bent the rules slightly to allow him to gain hold of the Potter grimoire. So, he had spent two weeks learning from it. Unsurprisingly, the Potter's were masters of Battle Transfiguration, just like his father apparently.

That, and with the book on Advanced Transfiguration from Susan, made for two weeks of constant training that many would have thought insane.

Every morning he would get up and run all the way around Diagon Alley from seven o'clock to eight o'clock. Then he would spend an hour working on Occlumency to calm his mind and his body. Then he would spend two hours working on making sure that he retained what he learnt from Professor Flitwick. Finally, he would spend time reading through his books on advanced Charms and Transfiguration and the Potter grimoire. Performing the magic that was in there.

While he was not one to be overconfident and arrogant in his skills, but he doubted that there would be many if not any that would be able to stop him from winning the tournament.

Walking through the streets of the French version of Diagon Alley, he looked around at each of the shops. Most were similar to those in Diagon Alley. He entered the book shop and looked around. There were a few books upon the history of Magical France, something which he picked up along with more on Charms and Transfiguration. He had a quick skim read of them all and found that the books on Transfiguration were the same as the ones he already had in his possession however, the books on Charms about three of them covered things about stuff he didn't know.

So, he took the three books on Charms and the books on the history of Magical France and bought them with the money he had brought with him.

Stepping out of the shop, Harry pulled out his wand and whispered, _"Point Me."_ Instantly his wand moved around like a compass before stopping in a single direction. He followed it, sometimes it would change directions and Harry would then move in that direction. However, once he came out of an alleyway onto a large road where there seemed to be nothing except empty and abandoned shops. As he exited onto this road, his wand began spinning wildly. Knowing this was the place, Harry pulled out a slip of paper and read the contents. As soon as he did he looked up and watched as the area shimmered before revealing a large dense forest. Looking around to see if anyone could see him, Harry entered the forest and began walking through it.

He was barely three steps into the forest before a large number of bushes behind him blocked off the exit and all the lights disappeared.

 _"Lumos."_ Instantly light filled the area, allowing him to see around him. It was done just in time as well because a large branch swung down towards him. "Shit!" Jumping backwards, he rolled along the ground and brought his wand to bare. _"Incendio!"_ He roared and unleashed a large wave of flames that engulfed the trees immediately in front of him. Using the new path formed for him, he ran forwards. Making sure to avoid any branches being swung at him from the multiple Whomping Willows that made up the entire forest.

He ran for what felt like hours before he found himself back in the same place as last time.

"What the?"

 _"Stupefy."_ A voice sounded from behind him. It was distinctly male, but that was all he managed to pick up before darkness claimed him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Nicolas Flamel was not one to be on edge. He had fought many powerful wizards who had come for the Philosopher's Stone and each time, he had defeated them. However, all of them had paid the Goblins to reveal information on their whereabouts. He had worked out a deal with them last century that would stop them from doing so. Even then, he and his wife, Perenelle, had constantly moved their house from place to place.

The only people that knew of his house's location, was his wife, Dumbledore and the Goblins.

His wife would never reveal their location and Dumbledore was far too scared of Perenelle to tell anyone. That left only the Goblins. It was worrying to know that the Goblins had broken their agreement. It was made even worse by the fact that he and his wife needed the Goblins more than they needed them.

"Has he woken up yet?" Turning to the right, Nicolas watched his wife move into the room. While aged, looking much like a woman in her late fifties, she was still beautiful.

"No, not yet." He turned back to face the young boy as his wife placed a small wet cloth upon his forehead.

"Jesus, Nic. How hard did you hit him?" Perenelle asked.

"I only used a low powered stunning spell." Nicolas tried to reason, but he soon grew nervous by the stare he received from his wife. "What, I took him out. Excuse me for acting first and asking questions later. From what I remember-"

"Don't you dare bring her into this! You know very well that she was trying to kill you and you still brought her to your bed!" A groan from the bed stopped them from arguing further. The two watched as Harry looked around the room before looking down at the ropes tying him to the bed.

"About time you woke up." Nicolas spoke up, causing Harry to face him. Then his eyes strayed back down.

"Sorry to break it to you old man, I ain't into bondage, or older men." Harry snarked causing Perenelle to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her amusement. Nicolas on the other hand was not as amused, if his twitching left eye was anything to go by.

"Watch yourself brat. I'm not into you, nor am I into bondage."

"I'm sorry, do you remember when asked for your opinion. Yea, me neither." This time everyone heard the small giggle of amusement that escaped from Perenelle. Nicolas drew his wand and pointed it at Harry.

"Alright, enough you two." Perenelle said, effectively stopping both of them from doing anything else. "What's your name child?"

"Hadrian James Potter."

"Now then, I believe that I speak for both myself and my husband when I ask, what are you doing here?" Harry looked between the two of them before sighing.

"I don't know if you know this or not, but the Philosopher's Stone was…"

"In Hogwarts. We know. We gave it to Dumbledore because he said he was trying to find out who among the staff were loyal and who were not." Nicolas explained.

"Yea, well one Professor, Professor Quirinus Quirrell; he tried to steal it. I also admit with five others, planned to steal it." It was obvious to Harry that Perenelle was the calm and collected one, and Nicolas was brash and hot-headed.

"So, you had a hand in our Stone being broken?" Perenelle pressed further.

"Broken?" Harry asked in confusion. "I managed to steal the Stone and killed Professor Quirrell through pure luck to get it. I guarantee you that the Philosopher's Stone is not broken. I even allowed the Goblins to use it so that they would give me your location."

"So that's how you did it." Nicolas said in wonderment. "That was smart, I'll give you that. The Goblins have been trying to get hold of our Stone for a while now. Do they still have it?"

"No. I loaned it to them for two weeks. I gained part of the profit and your location and they gained most of the profit in return."

"So, where's the Stone?" It was Perenelle this time that asked the question.

"I don't know. One of my associates has hold of it for the rest of week and then he gives it to someone else to hide. For all I know they could have it on them right now." Perenelle and Nicolas nodded their head at the logic.

"What do you want in return for our Stone?" Perenelle questioned.

"You've been around for six hundred years, maybe more. I bet you have learned and seen all sorts of magic in that time. I want you to teach me everything you know."

"Fine, we'll do that." Nicolas said quickly.

"Swear a magical oath." Seeing the glare sent to him by Nicolas he smirked. "I'm not some naïve child. I know that if I gave you the Stone there is nothing that will stop you from breaking your end of the deal. There's a piece of paper in my pocket that I need you to read out, on it is my list of demands. Just to let you know, both of you have to do this."

"It is alright, Nicolas." Perenelle placed a hand on Nicolas' shoulder, effectively calming him. Slowly, Nicolas moved forward and grasped hold of Harry's hand. "Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to teach everything you know to Hadrian James Potter?"

"I will." Nicolas ground out. A slither of red magic shot from Perenelle's wand and wrapped around the clasped hands of Nicolas and Harry.

"Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to keep no piece of information secret from Hadrian James Potter?"

"I will."

"Will you, Nicolas Flamel, swear to not harm Hadrian James Potter without his permission?"

"I will." Perenelle nodded her head as a sign of everything having been completed. He looked towards his wife. Husband and wife swapped positions.

"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to teach everything you know to Hadrian James Potter?"

"I will."

"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to keep no piece of information secret from Hadrian James Potter?"

"I will."

"Will you, Perenelle Flamel, swear to not harm Hadrian James Potter without his permission?"

"I will." Turning to Harry who looked pleased at the events, she asked, "Are we done?" Harry nodded his head. With a wave of his wand, she freed Harry from his bonds and the first thing he did was rub his wrists.

"I'll get in contact with my associate. I'm partaking in the Duelling tournament, he will be there with the Stone. I'll give it to you afterwards." The two Flamel's agreed, though Nicolas was hesitant.

"The tournament is in two days, is it not?" Nicolas asked. Harry nodded his head as an answer. "Then you best prepare yourself. You've blackmailed yourself into becoming my apprentice, then I will expect you to win." Smirking, Harry watched the two leave the room before heading towards the second door in the room. When he opened it up, he saw that it was just a simple bathroom.

Meanwhile, Nicolas and Perenelle walked down the corridor.

"You were very out of character love." Perenelle finally broke the silence that plagued them. Nicolas snorted and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"I know. I wanted to see how he reacted to different types of people and he did very well." Perenelle nodded her head, knowing that her husband liked to do all sorts of things to test people. "He has potential. Lots of it. Then again, I should have expected nothing less, Albus always had a knack for finding those with potential."

"Will you introduce him to them?"

"Yes, if he wants to learn what I know. He will need to receive training from them first. But right now, I can teach him a few things for now."

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

 _"Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen to the Under 13's World Duelling Championship. We have 256 competitors, each vying for the title as the Under 13's world champion duellist. Each competitor will compete in one v one matches until only one stands. Now for the rules…"_ The rules were what one would expect, no outside interference, no dark magic, so on and so forth.

Harry sat in the competitor's booth, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and pants. In his right hand he was gripping his custom wand tightly. His emerald eyes panned over the booth and looked around at the competitors he could see that were competing in his box.

One hundred and twenty-eight competitors in each box. Only one winner from each box could go to the final. He planned to be that victor. From what he could tell, the competitors were bragging about their power. It was foolish, as they were supplying the enemies with information, but there was the chance that they were giving false information. So, for now, Harry planned to take whatever they said with a grain of salt.

In the two days he had been at the Flamel's, Nicolas and Perenelle had made him brush up on the skills he had. They said that having better skill with the basics would beat any of the weakly controlled advanced magic.

 _"Let the first match begin, will…"_ Harry watched as each duel was fought. Some had skill, others power, others control. Each duel that went by, Harry would take note of everyone's areas of expertise. By the time it came to his match, he knew a bit of what the winners of the previous matches could do. _"Will Hadrian Potter and Absolon Martin, please come down to the arena floor."_

Harry quickly walked down towards the arena, in front of him was his opponent. Just by the way he walked, Harry could tell he was a pompous fool who believed that this would be an easy fight.

Walking onto the arena, Harry turned to face Absolon. The boy had long blonde hair pulled back into a topknot and blue eyes. Even from this distance he could tell that Absolon was arrogant. Smirking, Harry relaxed his posture and made sure that there seemed to be an air of indifference and boredom in him. It got the desired result as Absolon ground his teeth in anger.

"Are you ready?" The referee asked Absolon, who nodded his head. "Are you ready?" Harry nodded his head. "Fight!" From his wand a cannonball like noise sounded, signalling the start of the duel.

As soon as the signal was given, Absolon sprang into action. His wand twirling though the wand movements. One thing Harry noticed was that he wasn't very fast.

 _"Depulso! Diffindo! Diffindo!"_ Harry slightly moved his body to the left, avoiding the banishing charm. The next two severing charms were both done so that they cut through the air, horizontally. One was meant to aim for his chest, the second for his knees. Neither would kill him, but both would injure him. That was if he didn't jump through the middle of the two attacks.

Rolling along the ground, Harry thrust his wand in Absolon's direction.

 _"Bombarda."_ He said quietly. The explosive charm struck the ground and launched Absolon off the duelling arena.

 _"In an impressive display of agility, Hadrian Potter has defeated Absolon Martin with a single spell!"_ There was a large cheer from the British crowd, with a polite applause from the people he assumed to be from different countries. Smirking, Naruto walked back towards the competitor's booth, those that had once judged him with distaste and disgust, now judged him with nervousness present in their eyes.

It made his smirk deepen, they had dismissed him as being the British's poster boy with no real power, but they realised that their assumption was wrong.

Now he was a threat that needed to be watched carefully if they hoped to win. They needed to study him, watch how he thought to make sure that when they fought him, they had a chance.

Two hours went by quickly, the only thing that remained was the quarter, semi and the finals themselves. Out of all the competitors that remained, there were only two people he recognised, Sue Li a half-blood witch of Asian descent and heiress to the Ancient and Noble House of Li. Then there was Daphne Greengrass, a Pureblood witch and heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass.

Daphne was in his box however; Sue Li was in the other.

Overall though, Sue Li was by far the most skilled for their age group. She had speed, precision and understanding of duelling tactics. If he was a betting man, he would bet on Sue Li to make it to the final. In his box, he had no doubt it would be him. There was no one of real note so far, though from what he had seen there was only two people that could challenge him.

Daphne Greengrass and Akihiko Fukushima. Daphne was a duellist much like Sue Li, relying on speed, precision and her mind to help her win. Akihiko however, relied on brute force and wide damage spread attacks. Both would require a certain skill set to defeat. Lucky for him, he had those skill sets.

 _"It's been a long day. We've seen many skilled young duellists try their hardest."_ Harry snorted at that bit of the commentator's speech, many of those so called 'duellists' didn't know the difference between a curse and a hex. _"But we are reaching the finals and now these eight duellists are the only ones standing. First up, a young wizard who has proven himself to love causing chaos and destruction, I give to you Akihiko Fukushima of Japan!"_ There was a loud round of applause from the Asian crowd. Each of them pleased someone from their continent had made it this far. _"And a boy shrouded in mystery, having slain a Dark Lord as a child, slaying a Troll and proving himself to be a skilled duellist. I give to you, Hadrian James Potter of Britain."_ Again, there was a round of applause.

The two fighters arrived on the duelling arena and bowed towards each other before getting into a ready stance. Akihiko's was a square on stance with his knees slightly bent and his wand pointed forward. A perfect stance for someone who is a wizard preferring wide area damage spell.

Harry's stance on the other hand was one suited for a speed type fighter. It had been his preferred fighting style as it suited his natural speed and toned body. Not only that but it served to give false information to anyone wishing him harm. Call him paranoid, but he would rather have them believe he wasn't a powerhouse and just a speed type fighter so that could overwhelm them when push came to shove.

The stance itself involved him stood side on, with his left foot at the front. His wand was held in his right hand, hidden behind his back. There was no tensing of muscles, it was all relaxed allowing him the chance to move at a moment's notice, unlike Akihiko's whose main way of avoiding was to use a shield or use the debris around them as cover.

"Duellist ready?"" Akihiko nodded to the referee. "Duellist ready?" Harry also nodded his head and studied Akihiko, said person was more focused on the referee.

Foolish mistake.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Augusta looked down at her grandson who was sat beside Blaise Zabini and Peter Pike. The three of them were watching Harry tear his way through the competition. Each victory that he won, they would give a cheer for their friend just like everyone else supporting one of the remaining British competitor's.

Beside her was Mrs Zabini, who she had learned was called Giulia Zabini. The two women had conversed very little over time. Even now with the youngest generation of their family being friends, they did not converse. On her other side, sat Mr and Mrs Pike. From what she remembered, Mr Pike had once been a duellist however, he had never progressed far.

"He is quite skilled is he not, Lord Pike?" Augusta asked.

"Yes, very much so." He studied Harry's form before giving a whistle of appreciation. "Heir Potter's form is very impressive. Almost flawless, just enough holes in it to invite attack, but I can tell by the way he stands he put them there on purpose."

"So, Harry wants them to attack him?" Blaise questioned. The adults looked down to see that the three young wizards had turned to listen in on what they had to say.

"Yes, he wants them to attack so that he can use their own attack against them. Watch." Lord Pike pointed towards the duelling arena where the duel had just begun.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"Fight!" The referee shouted and instantly Akihiko started off with multiple wide area damage spells.

 _"Confringo! Expulso! Reducto! Bombarda!"_ The four spells were very powerful and very advanced. Each of them were slow. Akihiko had the power to do large amounts of damage, but not the control to increase its speed. For those two things were needed for a spell to be truly effective. Akihiko only had one.

Quickly, Harry stepped forward while simultaneously leaning his body to the side. The Blasting curse struck the ground behind him and caused an explosion. The more advanced version of the Blasting curse shot towards him, but Harry repeated his similar movement. This time however, he stepped to the right and pushed off his right foot, flipping over the Reductor curse before rolling underneath the final spell.

His wand flicked out and the debris from behind him changed into arrows that all turned to point at Akihiko. The boy in question took a step back in shock at the sheer number of arrows. Another flick of his wand and the arrows all shot towards the Japanese duellist, who used his own wand to conjure up a small slab of stone.

 _"Incendio!"_ Akihiko roared, using Harry's surprise at seeing conjuration from someone so young to his advantage. Pouring most of his magic into the spell, Akihiko watched as the wave of flames flew towards Harry at great speeds. Harry meanwhile, was shocked at the amount of magic being channelled into the spell. If he had to guess, Akihiko was of equal strength to him in terms of pure magic.

Grinning at the thought of a challenge. Harry prepared himself for what he was planning to do.

It had been something he found in the Potter Grimoire. A spell created by his grandfather. He had heard stories of both his father's and grandfather's skills in Transfiguration magic, but his grandfather was also said to be able to do some amazing things with magic. It was a spell he created during World War Two when he fought Gellert Grindelwald's forces. Despite what Magical Britain thought, Lord Voldemort was not the most powerful Dark Wizard to ever live. In fact, he didn't even register in the top twenty most powerful Dark wizards to ever live.

Gellert Grindelwald did and was a large fan of using Fiendfyre in open combat. To stop this, his grandfather had created a spell that would compress the fire into a single point before launching it back at his opponent with twice as much power. It also worked just fine on normal fire spells.

 _"Ignis rediero!"_ The spell translated to 'I return fire,' and it did exactly what it said it did.

The flames that many believed would consume Harry Potter whole, began compressing into a single ball in front of his wand. Harry in turn was hunched over as sweat dripped down the sides of his face, with his brow furrowed in concentration.

Akihiko watched in shock as more and more of his fire was compressed into a single point, until it resembled a tennis ball. Then, his magical control exploded, and the fire shot back into the direction it came and Akihiko had to hastily jump off the duelling arena to avoid been burnt to a crisp.

When he landed on the ground, the Japanese duellist watched as the flames continued forwards until they slammed against a magical barrier that stopped them from progressing.

Seeing this, Harry stopped supplying magic into the spell allowing the flame to dissipate.

Silence followed as the audience tried to wrap their minds around what just happened. Slowly, one person clapped and then that turned into two until everyone was clapping at the performance given to them.

 _"I don't believe it! In an excellent display of an unknown classification of magic, Hadrian Potter has shocked us all by turning Akihiko Fukushima's own attack against him! With it, Hadrian Potter advances to the semi-finals!"_ The announcer exclaimed.

Once Harry and Akihiko had gone their separate ways, the announcer began speaking once more.

 _"For the next match we have, Daphne Greengrass of Britain! A speed type duellist much like Hadrian Potter. Her opponent, Aleksandar Lyubomir. Another speed type duellist! Who will win?!"_ There was a loud cheer from the crowd as they cheered for their chosen duellist.

For a few moments, neither competitor moved as they both studied one another's stances, before in an unspoken agreement, fired two knockback jinxes. Both blue spells zipped past each other and went straight towards the other duellist. Aleksandar raised a shield to block the spell, while Daphne simply moved to the side and avoided it barely.

Due to not having to lower a shield, Daphne could instantly began firing spell after spell at Aleksandar. All were generally basic spells such as knockback jinxes, banishing charms and severing charms. None of them pierced Aleksandar's shield, but each forced him back ever so slightly.

Harry had to admit, that as he watched Daphne duel she presented a beautiful image. Each movement was graceful and elegant. The very image of nobility.

"She has a certain elegance to her, doesn't she?" A voice sounded from behind. Turning around, Harry found himself looking at Nicolas Flamel.

"You do know that this room is reserved for competitors only." Harry replied blandly.

"I'm not stupid, Hadrian. This room is reserved for finalists and their coaches. I believe I count as a coach, after all I helped you prepare for this, did I not?" Snorting, Harry turned back to the arena where Aleksandar was launching his counter assault. It was plainly obvious to anyone that understood duelling that Daphne was simply allowing him to exhaust himself while regaining her magic back.

"So, when do you plan to teach me?"

"I don't." Seeing Harry turn to face him with a glare and his emerald green eyes glowing brightly, he raised his hands in a placating manner. "I have spent centuries learning to perfect every magic I could get my hands on. I, in turn, have passed my teachings on to others. Seven others. To learn from me, you must first learn from those seven."

"And where exactly are these seven?" His voice was filled mockery. "And how do I even know they are still alive?"

"They are still alive because I have gifted them with a Philosopher's Stone of their own. As for their whereabouts, the Seven Wonders of the World, where things of their own creation." Sighing, Harry turned back to the arena as the Quarter-finals drew to a close.

"So, they are at the Seven Wonders of the World?"

"Yes, unless they have moved. Now, have you got my Stone?" Nicolas asked.

"No, I'm getting it afterwards." Nicolas nodded his head. "Speaking of Stones. From what everyone has said, you only created one, but now you are saying you have seven."

"Contrary to popular belief, Dumbledore was never my partner in creating the Philosopher's Stone. In fact, he was only ever my student. One day, he came across the Stone and had an infatuation with it. I decided to sate his curiosity and help him create one of his own. I never taught him the true recipe, keeping key parts from him, but once he had done he had explained to the world of his 'creation.' After that I refused to teach him anything else." Nicolas snorted as he remembered Dumbledore's foolish actions. "It seems you're up."

Harry looked down to the arena to see that Daphne Greengrass was already making her way towards it.

 _"I repeat, will Hadrian Potter of Britain come down to the duelling arena."_

"Good luck." Harry waved over his shoulder in response.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Entering the arena, Harry stared at Daphne Greengrass. His stance was slouched, and he had an easy-going smile on his face.

"It's good to see you again Daphne." Harry instantly took note of her gaze growing colder. "What, am I still unable to call you by your first name? Ok. How about a little bet? If I win, then you have to make an attempt at getting to know me. If you win, I will leave you alone unless it is business related. What'd you say?"

"Fine." Harry smirked at that. If he managed to get the victory here, which he would, then he could potentially get closer to Daphne, and by extension her father. With the Greengrass' on his side he would have direct relations to the Neutral faction and all the alliances part of it.

"Duellist ready? Duellist ready? Fight!" Instantly, Daphne started the fight she always did. With a Knockback jinx. Raising his wand, he knocked the spell to the side before whipping his wand in the opposite direction.

 _"Diffindo!"_

 _"Protego!_ _"_ The shielding charm blocked the severing charm easily and then Daphne instantly went on the offensive. _"Confringo! Expulso! Petrificus Totalus! Locomotor Mortis! Reducto!"_ Each spell shot towards him and Harry carefully avoided each one. Knowing that if a single one hit him, it would injure him greatly.

As each spell missed him by a hairs breadth, he could feel the magic brimming in each one. He didn't know the full extent of Daphne's magical core, but he knew that she was both extremely powerful and hiding it like he was, or was aiming to finish him quickly. But from the way she was heavily breathing, he could see that it was the latter and not the former. It was a shame really, he had looked forward to facing her. Now, she was just a disappointment.

Sighing at the loss of a good fight. Harry readied his magic before channelling it through his wand.

 _"Bombarda!"_ He didn't stop there and raced after her just in case she managed to stay on the arena. Something she did as she skilfully manoeuvred the debris away from her body. Harry thrust his wand forward as a cover image while swiping his left hand to the right behind his back.

Instantly an unknown force knocked Daphne off the arena.

 _"Amazing! Daphne once again displayed a great deal of magical knowledge as she tried to end the match quickly! But Hadrian Potter once again showed his great agility, precision, and awareness to quickly dispatch his opponent!"_ The commentator waited until the crowd had quietened before continuing. _"Will Sue Li and…"_

Harry drowned out the sound and instead focused on the retreating figure of Daphne Greengrass. Quickly catching up, he fell into step beside her.

"So, it seems I won our bet, Daphne." Harry finally said.

"You did. Have you come to rub that fact in?" Turning to face Daphne who had stopped to regard him coldly, but he could see the anger in her eyes.

"No, I have not. I was rather hoping to start that little friendship we talked about."

"You talked about, you mean." Daphne corrected, and Harry nodded his head.

"Yes. The friendship I talked about. I can honestly tell you that I had no interest in rubbing-in my victory over you." Daphne regarded him for a few more moments before giving a stiff nod and began walking again. "Mind telling me why you're so annoyed at me? Besides the fact I beat you."

"The tournament was my way of being known as something more than a witch or the heiress of the Greengrass family. To separate myself from all other pureblood witches that are content to be a simple trophy wife." Harry nodded his head. Any pureblood or half-blood knew that witches were sold off to families with the greatest influential power to incur good will and alliances.

"I see."

"No, you don't!" Daphne snapped in a rare show of emotion. "No one in the history of your family has been a Slytherin. They don't know what happens inside it. You may have charisma and political skills that make you formidable and a contender in the house, but that alone doesn't make up for your lack of awareness on the inner workings of Slytherin house."

"Do tell." Harry finally said after a moment's silence. His eyes just as cold and indifferent as Daphne's. "As your friend, I may be able to help you. But I can only do that when I'm aware of what I need to know." Daphne stared at him for a few moments before finally releasing a sigh, knowing that she may need his help later on.

"When Slytherin witches enter their third year, there's a ritual or tradition that Slytherin's have followed since its founding." Harry didn't need to be a genius to guess what this ritual was. "The older Slytherin boys are allowed entry into the girl's dorm and unless you have sufficient protections then…" She left everything else open for Harry to figure out himself.

"Oh."

"My family's power will only protect me for so long. No one except the potential suitors my father is looking into would dare do anything to me. This tradition is the way many suitors are chosen." Harry nodded his head in understanding. It made sense, if a suitor could overpower and bypass any defences placed would be worthy. "If I won the tournament it would mean my father would have to set a different task for suitors."

"To beat you in a duel?" Harry questioned, gaining a nod of the head from Daphne. "What would happen if I were to declare you and anyone else under the protection of the Potter family?"

"Then the suitors would have to defeat you before going on to me and the others."

"I see." Harry hummed in thought for a few moments as he mulled over the idea for a few moments. "Then, I shall officially declare you under the Potter family's protection at the start of the year."

Silence prevailed for a few moments.

"Thank you." It was but a whisper, silent and gentle like a breeze. However, Harry heard it clearly and he smiled at seeing his offer seemingly get through Daphne's façade.

"I'll see you around Daphne." Another nod was given as an answer and the two heirs parted. "Oh, a quick word of advice." Daphne turned around to regard Harry with curiosity. "Don't start with the Knockback jinx, it's quite predictable." Nodding her head, Daphne continued to walk away.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

To say the crowd was shocked was an understatement. Many had assumed, rightfully so, that Sue Li would be the victor and would progress into the finals. Instead it had been James Smith from America. The boy had shown great aptitude for the shielding charm, capable of blocking any spell and physical attack sent his way. Nothing that Sue Li tried got through his shield and then, in a single strike he had knocked her off the duelling arena.

Harry himself was shocked. He had fully expected that Sue Li would have progressed. She was far more skilled, had a greater repertoire of spells and her physical capabilities were much greater.

His eyes however, had picked up a certain anomaly surrounding James at all times. Sure, when a spell would come straight at him he would raise his wand and say the incantation for the shielding charm. The very same anomaly would glow brightly as if he had summoned it. But the fact was, even when he wasn't channelling magic to form a shield, the anomaly was still there.

It was very slight, he only noticed it because of the slight distortions in the air. Even then they were very brief.

Getting onto the arena, Harry readied himself while he studied his opponent. The American simply stood there, square on with no stance and his wand held loosely in his left hand. He already seemed confident in his victory, as if nothing Harry tried would stop him. Harry smirked at the thought.

"Fight!" Harry sprang into action. His wand going through movement after movement as he fired spells at high speeds towards James.

The American in question raised his wand and shouted, _"Protego!"_ The shielding charm blocked all spells and redirected them into the ground destroying it. Another flick of his wand and the debris changed into weapons and attacked the shield. Swords, spears, axes, etc. All slamming against James's shield.

None of them pierced it.

With a quick tug of his magic, he forced all the weapons back to his side of the arena before pushing them all forwards, followed by a shout of, _"Depulso!"_ That pushed the weapons towards James at greater speeds.

Once again they struck the American's shields and were deflected in different directions.

 _'So, it seems his shield is incredibly powerful. Interesting.'_ Harry quickly had to start avoiding every spell sent his way by James, each were quite powerful and would do some damage. However, Harry skilfully avoided each one. Sidestepping, ducks, spins and acrobatics to dodge each spell. Never losing momentum while occasionally firing spells of his own in return. It made for an awe-inspiring sight that enraptured the gaze of the audience.

"Stand still!" James roared, his patience having reached its peak. Chuckling, Harry continued to avoid each of James' spells.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Blaise, Neville and Peter watched as Harry continued to display physical abilities that they had not known he possessed.

"You know, seeing Harry like this really makes me wish I could do stuff like that." Neville finally spoke up as they watched Harry push off his hand and flip over a spell. Peter snorted, and he nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree Neville. I feel really jealous." Blaise continued.+++++

"Why don't we ask him to help us then?" Peter added gaining the attention of the other two. "What? Look at him, he's barely tired at all and he's been flinging spells around and dodging spells since the start."

"You're right you know, Peter." Lord Pike intruded into the conversation. The three boys turned around in their seats and turned to face Lord Pike. "Our magic naturally keeps us healthy and fit. However, in doing so we cannot access our full magical power. By training your body physically, your magic can instead focus on healing injuries and increasing your stamina. That's the reason why most duellists and Auror's are forced to go through rigorous training regimes. Both after and before graduation."

The three boys waited for Lord Pike to continue, but when they saw him relax into his chair they realised he had finished. They then turned around and watched Harry launching his own assault on James, only to see each attack being blocked. Each of them realising that perhaps they should begin training physically and not just magically.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry flicked his wand from side to side and each spell he launched towards him at great speeds and power. Nothing happened as the spells were deflected, leaving James unharmed.

Each spell he fired allowed Harry to see that underneath the clothing James wore; a green glow could be seen as his spells impacted against the shield. It was faint, almost unnoticeable, and it made sense why so many had been unable to notice it. In the heat of a duel, little details such as this would go unnoticed. However, when one was actively looking for something, it all of a sudden became clear.

It was obvious that he had to get whatever that was through the series of tests to find something that gave the duellists an unfair advantage. Nothing could be given to duellists after they passed the tests, meaning that it had to have been on his person before the tests.

Furthermore, that meant it didn't respond to all attacks or actions. This meant that it responded to only the intent behind the action. All the remained was to test that theory.

 _"Reducto!"_ The spell shot forwards, but its target was not James. It was instead the ground behind him and just like he expected, the spell breached the anomaly and hit its intended target.

Smirking, Harry shot forwards as fast as he could, his mind made up on simply entering the anomaly.

In response to his charge, James fired spells at an even faster rate. Harry however, never broke his stride and continued onwards, avoiding every spell sent his way. He felt the vibrations of the anomaly as soon as he entered its area.

"H-how?" James asked in shock.

"How what?" Harry returned while continuing to walk forwards. With every step Harry took towards James, James would take a step backwards. "I could tell you if you want, but then I would have to tell everyone and reveal you for what you really are. So, surrender, and your secret is safe with me."

"And why should I believe you? For all I know you could tell them anyway despite what I do." James shot back before stopping his movement as his foot reached the edge of the arena floor. Harry however, had no need to stop and continued until he was directly in front of him.

"The thing is, you lose either way and I win. There is no way this ends with you being victor." James stared at the ground for a few moments and then he raised his wand into the air. Red sparks shot from it, sending a ripple of shock through the crowd once more as he surrendered. To anyone watching, it had looked like James would win, but then all of a sudden he surrendered.

Had he run out of magic?

What was the reason he had surrendered?

These were but a few thoughts circling inside the heads of the audience.

Harry meanwhile, stood smirking as he watched James glare at him hatefully. Patting him on the shoulder, Harry walked past him allowing the arena to be cleared and repaired for the next match between Sue Li and Daphne Greengrass. The victor would be then declared as third in the overall tournament.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

With the tournament ending and Harry being named Under 13's World Duelling Champion and given fifteen thousand galleons. James had come in second with Sue Li in third. However, the final match between Sue Li and Daphne Greengrass had been extremely close.

Now, Harry was making his way towards the exit of the duelling colosseum. Already, he could see that families of the competitors that made it to the finals were still around. Congratulating and in some cases berating others on their performances.

"Oi, Harry. Over here." Looking in the direction of the voice's origin, he found Neville waving at him. A smile formed on his face when he saw Blaise and Peter along with them. While he was a bit disappointed that Theodore and Graham couldn't make it, he understood why. After all their parents are extremely strict in the way they raise their children according to the two of them.

"So, how does it feel to be friends with the new Under 13's World Duelling Champion?" Harry asked once he reached his friends.

"It feels no different than normal." Blaise replied, after pretending to consider the question. Beside him, Neville nodded his head in agreement. Peter on the other hand looked around in confusion.

"I could have sworn Harry got his arse kicked." He finally said, his voice filled with faux bewilderment.

"Ha, ha. Very funny Peter." Harry replied sarcastically, while Neville and Blaise laughed at what Peter had said. "And I don't know why you two are laughing, you would have got your arse kicked by all of them." Even when he said that, the three of them still continued to laugh.

"I agree with Heir Potter." Giulia Zabini joined in the conversation. "Despite what you might think Blaise, you would have probably made it to the quarter-finals before being beaten." This time Harry joined Neville and Peter as they laughed at Blaise's embarrassment.

Seeing that her son had been embarrassed enough, Giulia turned towards Harry and smiled.

"Congratulations on your victory, Heir Potter." Harry simply smiled at the praise and bowed towards Giulia.

"Thank you, Lady Zabini."

"Yes, I have to agree with Lady Zabini, you did very well on your showing. Especially for someone of your age." Lord Pike joined in on the conversation. Harry in turn bowed towards Lord and Lady Pike, in thanks for the kind words given to him. "While I would love to talk of your duelling capabilities, I have urgent business back in Britain that I must get to."

"Of course, I would not wish to keep you busy Lord Pike." Harry then turned towards Peter and they shook hands. "I'll see you in Diagon Alley, when our letters arrive, yea?"

"Yea." Peter agreed.

"We're gonna go as well Harry. We have to go meet my grandparents in Italy." Blaise said as well. The brown skinned Slytherin nodded his head in his direction. Harry knew exactly what it meant, Blaise was getting all potential witnesses out of the way so that Neville could give him the Stone.

Once Blaise and Pike had gone with their parents, Harry turned to face Neville.

"Where's your grandmother?" Neville seemed especially nervous when he brought this up.

"I'm right here, Mr Potter. Now, do you mind telling me why my grandson is in possession of the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry gave Neville a look that said, 'we'll talk later.' The Longbottom heir in turn, simply gave a nervous laugh.

Seeing this, Harry turned around to face Augusta Longbottom who had her emotions perfectly under control. Nothing showed on her face that gave away how she really felt. Something which made the only Potter, more nervous than it should have done.

Sighing, Harry knew there was no way to escape this. More so when Augusta slightly opened her robe to reveal the Philosopher's Stone clutched tightly in her hand. Yep, definitely no way out of this one.

"When this is done." Harry said to Neville over his shoulder. "I am going to teach you how to properly lie." Once again Neville gave a sheepish laugh in response.

"I believe that we were in the middle of something, Mr Potter." Augusta gained his attention once more and Harry looked into her indifferent gaze. He couldn't tell whether she was angry or happy. He would only tell when he said his piece, but perhaps choosing his words carefully would help him a little bit.

 **A/N: I've finally done it. The next chapter of the Master of Death. You have no idea how difficult and frustrating it was to write this chapter. Every time I wrote it out it just didn't seem right, and I had to rewrite loads of it. So, I gave myself a break from it and started writing my next story, Shinobi no Kami. If you haven't read that yet and you're a fan of Naruto FanFiction then please go check it out.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review on what you think. Even if it's something simple like saying 'good chapter.'**


	7. Training and Start of the Year

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 6: Training and Start of the Year.**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank Sir Chucky, blagyz, Raikaguken, wazjoe, Charles Ceaser, PascalDragon, Darth Vader, kgnmike88, hybrid3y3, , Time313, gginsc and .3950 for your reviews.**

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 _"Scripts/Familiar speech."_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"I believe that we were in the middle of something, Mr Potter." Augusta gained his attention once more and Harry looked into her indifferent gaze. He couldn't tell whether she was angry or happy. He would only tell when he said his piece, but perhaps choosing his words carefully would help him a little bit.

Giving one last glare towards Neville who chuckled nervously, Harry turned to Augusta and gave his best charming smile. The two stood in silence as Neville watched slowly, inching away, but a look from his grandmother stopped him from doing so.

"Now then, tell me why my grandson has the Philosopher's Stone in his possession, and don't lie to me." She added at the end when she saw Harry open his mouth to speak. There was a few more moments of silence in which Harry tried to think of the best way to explain the situation.

"What are the main attributes that make an individual a member of Slytherin?" While not understanding were this was going, Lady Longbottom answered.

"Cunning and Ambition."

"Exactly. My parents died fighting Voldemort," she flinched, as did Neville at the use of the Dark Lord's name, "yet no one remembers them. I believe it was they who killed Voldemort or did something that would give me the means to do so. I am praised for their deed and I want to be remembered for something more than that."

"This is nice and all, but it does not explain why my grandson had the Philosopher's Stone." While her voice was indifferent, he could hear signs of her annoyance at his avoidance of her questions.

"My desire is to become a powerful wizard on a level surpassing Dumbledore. The Philosopher's Stone is the key to gaining the knowledge that the Flamel's hold." He could see the realisation on her face. "However, I couldn't go to the Flamel's with the Stone on me as they wouldn't agree to do anything, so I gave it to someone I could trust." Here they both looked towards Neville.

While angry that her grandson had been used, she could understand a child's desire to become something great. That didn't mean she would forgive him. No, she would work with him for as long as it ensured her family's survival. If he betrayed them or her grandson died under his orders, there would be hell to pay. Nothing would stop her from getting revenge.

Giving a stiff nod, Augusta handed over an envelope. Harry took it and opened it up at the top. There at the bottom was a ruby red stone.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Lady Longbottom." He bowed in thanks.

"You're welcome. Come Neville." Augusta said stiffly, before walking away.

"See you later Harry." Nodding his head, Harry watched the two go before turning to face the wall. It shimmered slightly and then Nicolas revealed himself. Neither said anything as Harry passed him the envelope and watched as Nicolas looked at it in silence.

"It's the real deal." Harry confirmed.

"Of course it is. I just forgot how beautiful it is." Nicolas replied as he placed the envelope inside his robes.

"That's nice and all, but do you have what you promised me?" Nicolas nodded and pulled out a sock and handed it to Harry.

"A portkey that will take you to Rome, keyword is 'activate'. Then when you get there, let your magic flow into the first pillar that appears in front of you."

"Thank you." Shrugging his shoulders, Nicolas walked away, leaving Harry alone once more. His eyes fixated upon the sock in his hand.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry stood still for a few moments as he allowed the nausea to fade away. While he had grown used to apparition through constant training, using a portkey was much worse. It was possibly due to the longer distance he had travelled that the nausea he felt was much worse. It was the only logical explanation available to him.

When the dizziness subsided, he looked around to see that while dark, Rome was still beautiful. His emerald eyes then turned towards the Colosseum. While partly destroyed it didn't take away from its natural beauty.

Doing as Nicolas had said, Harry walked towards the first pillar and placed his wand upon the entrance. Allowing his magic to pass through his wand and into the wall, he pulled it back and looked at the glowing blue writing now forming.

 _What country is the dependency of the Netherlands?_

A question? That's what he had to answer.

Sighing, Harry began to think on what the answer could be. Well, the Faroe Islands and Greenland are the two countries controlled by Denmark. So which one was it? Greenland was by far, the bigger of the two and widely known. Deciding to play it safe, Harry chose to go with that one.

"Greenland." The writing glowed blue before more writing appeared on the wall.

 _Bright like diamonds, hard like rock. I'm crushed or cubed or solid block. Look inside me._

Now this was confusing. Why give a question with the answer of a place, then a riddle? Was this the type of magic he would be learning or something else? Once again, it was the only thing that made sense to him.

 _'The one time I don't have Theo with me, is the day I get a riddle.'_ He could solve riddles, but it took him awhile. Theodore was very good at solving riddles, much better than he was.

For a few moments he stood there, his eyes narrowing upon the writing as he tried to decipher what the answer could be.

The flapping of wings sounded in his ears followed by a sudden weight on his shoulder. Looking to the left he turned to see Hedwig perched on his shoulder. The owl rubbed the top of her head against his cheek before staring deeply into his eyes.

 _"Ice."_ His eyes widened in shock as he heard a feminine voice sound in his head. "Honestly child, you can speak with that barbarian snake in snake tongue, is it so weird that you can communicate with me mentally." Harry hummed with a shrug of his shoulders before looking towards the wall once more.

"Ice." Then the writing changed once more.

 _The Isle of Man separates Great Britain and what?_

 _"That's quite an easy one."_ Harry had to agree as he answered the question instantly.

"Ireland." Like he expected, the writing glowed blue and changed.

 _I reach for the sky, but clutch the ground; sometimes I leave, but I am always around. What am I?_

 _"The trees."_ Harry would be the first to admit he was getting a little creeped out by his owl familiar's ability to solve riddles. Hedwig must have read his mind because she gave him and inquiring stare. _"Owls are naturally wise and intelligent creatures. Is it so surprising that I can solve riddles easily?"_

"No I guess not." He then turned to the pillar and said, "The trees." Then the writing glowed blue.

 _You have your destinations and objectives._

Clicking his tongue in annoyance as he was once again denied training, he activated his portkey to France and then he felt the familiar tugging around his navel. When he arrived, he found himself at the Ministry and so, he activated his first portkey that would take him to England.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Entering Gringotts, Harry ignored all those currently waiting in line to be served and the looks. He instead, headed straight towards his Account Managers room. Entering the room he found that it had been completely refurbished.

There were numerous desks, ten lined up in a row. On each were large piles of paper with goblins signing and looking over multiple documents. Lining each wall were large folder cabinets, organised in alphabetical order. There were a few goblins constantly moving around the room, up and down ladders and towards the desk, carrying folders and documents.

"Mr Potter." He looked down to see a Goblin warrior dressed in a suit of armour stood before him. "Follow me." He did so and walked down the middle of the rows and looked over a few of the files. Seems more of his plans were being put into effect. That was good, very good.

 _"Your cleverness will get you killed one day, child."_ Ignoring what Hedwig said, Harry continued down until he came to a small office. The glass had a certain texture to it that made it impossible to see in it, but there was a different pattern in each window. The Coat of Arms for his different Lordships and on the glass was a single Coat of Arms, which he assumed belonged to Ripclaw and underneath it said, Account Manager Ripclaw.

The guard knocked and they heard Ripclaw say, "Come in," and the guard opened the door to allow him in. There, behind a desk of his own was Ripclaw, looking over a few final documents.

Walking forwards, Harry sat down on the comfortable leather chair and waited for Ripclaw to finish looking over his documents.

"You're back early. Though not without success it seems." He gave a nod of his head toward the newspaper.

"It came out early." Harry took the newspaper and read over the contents before sneering at the way it presented his success been down to his conquest as a child.

"I don't know what you've been doing since the end of the tournament, but it is nearly lunch time and the tournament ended yesterday evening." That was news to him, he hadn't realised how long he had been in Rome. "Anyway, you'll be pleased to know that Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley are now yours and Project Cadmus is around a quarter of the way to completion."

"Will you show me?" Giving one of his signature smirks, Ripclaw rose from his seated position and walked towards a second door behind the Goblin. Harry followed him through the door and they came towards a Y-intersection. The two moved down the left hand corridor and Ripclaw opened up the door revealing a large circular room.

Overall, it was pretty plain with three stone slabs in the centre. On them were three bodies and on the middle one lay the body of Marcus Flint. All of them had various states of modifications.

The one on the left had his right hand replaced with a mace. The one on the right hand the same hand replaced with a jagged piece of steel in the shape of a blade and Marcus Flint had his left hand replaced with a similar looking blade. On their hands that was whole, were multiple runes, with a slight bump underneath the skin.

"As you asked, all three have had their non-wand hands replaced with a weapon that can easily be detached and replaced with a different weapon. Their wands however, have been broken down and using a Goblin ritual have fused with their bodies making their arms the wand itself." Harry nodded his head and walked towards the slabs and looked at the chests of the three men.

The one on the left had his chest bare except for a single rune, Marcus's body was half covered in runes, while the final one was completely covered in runes.

"The rituals you asked for have begun with only these three out of twenty surviving so far. I have another batch of possible candidates coming in next month. You should have more of your personal bodyguard next month."

"Are any complete?" Harry asked, and Ripclaw nodded as he indicated towards the man with his chest covered in runes.

"This one here. His brain having lost all memories due to the last ritual and our Goblin healers have made them simple sleeper agents, loyal only to you." Smirking, Harry turned to Ripclaw.

"You've done well."

"We Goblin's make sure any job given to us is completed to its fullest. As long as you pay us enough." Ripclaw added at the end. "And you have made sure we are paid very well."

"I've seen." He said with amusement clearly heard in his voice. "What about recruitment?" Ripclaw laughed uproariously.

"This is why I like you Harry. You don't care for small talk, its straight to business." The two moved out of the room and back to the intersection before moving down the final corridor. There they opened the door and Harry found himself on a balcony looking at around ten to fifteen men and women training in magic. "Eight men, five women, all muggleborns that had been unemployed in both worlds. There are many others, but all are unwilling to do so as they believe it a pureblood scheme to show their superiority."

Humming, Harry looked down and watched as the group stopped their physical exercises and split up into different areas to train on their own. From what he could see, there was close combat weapons such as, swords, spears, axes, etc. There was also modern technology like, pistols, semi-automatics, etc.

"Are there any trained and ready?"

"No, we've had to build them up from the bottom physically and magically, they had lost a lot of their previous strength and we had to restart them on the basics as well." Ripclaw informed.

"I see."

"So mind telling me why you're back so early?"

"The Flamel's agreed to teach me on the condition that I would learn from seven individuals before coming to them. However, I have to learn some assigned skills before they will begin to teach me I believe. So I need a portkey that will take me to Greenland and Ireland. How long will it take you sort out a portkey for those two countries?"

"I can get you one within the hour." The two reached an agreement there and shook hands to confirm it. Both sharing a smirk as the plans they had put into place were coming into fruition.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry groaned as he rose out of bed. His shoulders popping as he laid back down into the bed of his small room at the Leaky Cauldron. He had gotten back yesterday and had gotten the first good night's sleep of the Summer Holidays.

Standing up, he looked at the mirror to see he had changed a little over the holidays. His body had become leaner, with the makings of a six pack and while he would never be bulky, he would be toned. His hair had grown slightly longer and had lost some of its wildness, now becoming curly. A few bits of hair had fallen down into his face and in front of his glowing green emerald eyes.

They were by far the most noticeable feature now. Before, one could mistake them for being blue from a distance. Now though you could easily tell what colour they were as the seemed to glow subconsciously.

Harry would admit, the past six weeks had been enlightening. The first three weeks he had been in Ireland, the first three days he had been travelling. Using a mix of apparition to travel all over the island. Then he had come across a small tribe of Druids. There he had learned that the connection to nature was one of the most important figures.

Using his magic to manipulate plant life and they seemed to have learned a way to use nature in both offense and defence. However, he had been taught that what one must take from nature, they must return something of equal value. He had also learnt to sense the vibrations of the earth to pinpoint the location of others, to see without seeing they called it. Not only that, but he learned how to gain a greater connection with his magic, and therefore greater skill in wandless magic.

The final three weeks he had been in Greenland, learning the wonder of Water, Wind and Ice magic. While he was nowhere near as proficient as the natives were, he was still quite skilled. His desire to learn, made him push himself harder and harder each day. Not only had he been doing that, but the natives of Greenland believed that for you to truly become skilled, you must first train your body.

With a quick flick of his hand, his trunk opened up and clothes floated towards him. The clothes moved around him for a few moments before slipping onto his body.

His outfit consisted of a white, short sleeved top with a grey trench coat that was unbuttoned over the top, black skinny jeans and a pair of dress shoes. Giving a quick nod to himself in the mirror, Harry exited his lodgings and went onto the streets of Diagon Alley. One of his Project Cadmus survivors had been fully trained and ready, now waiting for him to judge him.

After that, he, along with his new bodyguard, would meet up with a few clients before going to meet up with his friends.

It didn't take long, around five minutes before he found himself outside of Ripclaw's new office. There he entered and sat down in the leather chair across from Ripclaw, two guards having disappeared down the Y-intersection to collect his bodyguards.

"Here are their files." Ripclaw said as he handed over four files to the Potter heir.

The man was called Dirk Cresswell, he had been the Head of Goblin Liaison Office before being mysteriously attacked after leaving the Ministry. He had lost his right arm and had instantly been decided as a suitable candidate for Project Cadmus. His wife had been told he had died due to his injuries and now, Dirk was officially dead to Magical world.

The door soon opened and in entered three figures. His slightly fattened body had become big and bulky with muscle, from his right hand was now replaced with a single jagged piece of steel that gleamed dangerously. His face had been scarred beyond recognition. Dirk's outfit consisted of a single black robe that blended in with his pants, but also had a flare at the back.

The one thing that stood out the most, was the emotionless eyes that regarded him with indifference.

"We have codenamed him Bear and I assure you, he is fully trained and equipped with the modifications you asked for." Harry leaned back into the chair and then he shot forwards. His hand gripping hold of letter opener and launching it towards Dirk at great speeds.

To the shock of the Goblin guards, Dirk's hand shot up and caught the letter opener before it could pierce his eye. Then, to further their shock, Dirk clenched his fist bending the metal and crunching it up into a ball before dropping it to the ground. Harry smirked and once again leaned down into the chair.

Besides the detachable weapon and wand fused arm, he had undergone multiple runes and rituals. There had been seven magical strengthening rituals that would improve the overall amount of magic and ones connection to their magic. Then there had been seven body improvement rituals - ones that would improve the body's physical capabilities. Finally, there had been seven awareness rituals. This would improve the wizard/witches ability to sense incoming attacks, both physical and magical.

After the rituals there had been multiple runes inscribed into the body. Such as, skin and bone strengthening runes that make them equivalent to metal. Weightless, unbreakable, healing and finally a shielding rune. The first two did exactly as they sounded, but the third allowed the wizard/witch to heal from small cuts, the deeper the cut, the longer it took to heal. The final rune made a shield that could stop low-powered spells only.

"Are they impervious to pain?" Ripclaw smirked and nodded his head towards one of the Goblin guards. Pulling out his blade, the Goblin made a deep cut into Dirk's arm and not even a grunt escaped Dirk's mouth.

"Does that answer your question?" Smirking, Harry stood up and Dirk tensed in preparation for an order. "Just give him an order and he shall follow it without question."

"Put up your hood." Bear followed his order without question and as soon as the hood was up, his face was covered in shadows. "Follow." Then he walked out of the office and then Gringotts himself. One thing Harry instantly picked up on, was the way the blade shimmered as soon as they reached the lobby of Gringotts before taking the appearance of a hand. It was no simple glamour charm or rune as his eyes that had been improved by the Druids would have instantly picked up on it. No, this was a ward.

From there, the two walked down into Knockturn Alley and down into a small dingy pub. Entering it, they could see multiple figures, all of them were scattered around the pub. Some were smoking, others drinking and a few eating.

Harry knew that it was all an act. Pretending to be simple customers, but were in fact mercenaries paid to be the owners bodyguards. Bear also noticed this as he positioned himself slightly in front of him so that if spells were fired, he would be the one to absorb the impact.

"Hello Gentlemen." Harry greeted casually as the guards tensed as they gripped their wands underneath the table. Their eyes moving from him to Bear and the newly revealed blade. "Is the owner of this fine establishment around?"

"What do you want kid?" An elderly voice sounded from bar, and there stood an aged man with greying hair. Moving around Bear, Harry made his way towards the bar. Fully aware of the way the eyes warily followed him and Bear. Once he arrived at the bar, Harry took a seat and stared at the man.

"You see, my name is Hadrian James Potter." He smirked when he saw the widening of the man's eyes. "And while I have been out of touch from the Magical world for a while, it doesn't take a genius to know that the person with the most money and information will always get what they want. It's the natural order of things. The weak follow the strong."

"Where are you going with this?" The Potter heir raised one hand to silence him.

"I'm getting to that." Harry admonished in a condescending fashion. "You see, I'm not someone that likes to be controlled and so I set out to be a powerful individual. I'm credited for been the only person to survive the Killing Curse, slaying Voldemort, a Troll and winning the Under 13s World Championship. I have also gained ownership over the entirety of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. So imagine my surprise when I hear there's an unnamed pub that has escaped my notice. So I've come to offer you a deal."

"A deal?" The elderly man asked sceptically.

"Yes, an agreement between two people." By the glare he received, his joke was not found amusing. "Each shop I own, has to pay twenty-fivw percent of what they earn to me each year. In return, I offer protection."

"I have no care for your deals. So I'm going to have to ask you to leave." By some unspoken rule, the ten guards in the room stood up and pointed their wands at them. Bear gave an animalistic growl as he once again positioned himself in the line of fire. "Now." The elderly man warned dangerously.

"Humour me?" Slowly, the man nodded and with it the guards lowered their wands ever so slightly. "Thank you. Now my deal is quite generous. You have to pay no tax, you will be protected and I will even pay ten percent for any produce delivered to you as long as I know what it is. In return, you will comprise a list with every secret, plan and rumour you have found as I know that you have your own spy network. Then you will deliver it to a Goblin called Ripclaw and say it is from a friend of his. Every week after that, you will comprise a list of every valuable person that has entered your pub, the reason they did so and what business they spoke of doing and once again you will deliver it to Gringotts to the same Goblin. The next thing you will do is give me any information I ask for, for half the price. What'd you say?"

"It's a nice answer, but my answers still no. So leave." The situation descended into a tense one once more.

"That's a shame. Really it is." Harry palmed the wand in his right hand. "Because I'm not leaving until you agree to my terms."

"Yes, I guess that is a problem." The elderly man agreed as he nodded his head towards the ten guards. Harry and Bear were the first to react.

"Reducto! Bombarda!" Harry roared and with it two spells shot forward. The first collided with the chest of the guard to his left and launched him back into the wall. The second spell struck the ground in front of a group of three launching them through the wall and out into the streets of Knockturn Alley.

Bear was not ideal as he took the blow from six spells before launching himself towards a pair of men. His blade piercing through the man's stomach and lifting him off the ground while firing a Reductor Curse to the second man separating him in half.

Not wasting the shock Harry's actions gained, Bear summoned a fire whip that he used to wrap around the body of the man nearest to Harry. With a quick tug, the man was reduced into a pile of ashes while he simultaneously removed his blade

Harry was not idle as he fired off a Bone Breaking Curse and the Entrail-Expelling Curse. The two spells struck the same man and while it wouldn't kill him, it would badly injure him, making another candidate for Project Cadmus.

The final two men dropped their wands to the ground in surrender and Bear summoned them to his waiting hand.

Releasing a breath, Harry tugged at his trench coat pulling it further up and getting rid of any creases that had formed. His eyes looking around at the pub before landing on the bar tender. Walking forwards, he took a seat once more before regarding the elderly man with indifference, gone was the child act he had put on.

"Now then." Bear miraculously appeared behind the bar tender, who turned around in shock. The cloaked figure gripped his neck and slammed him onto the desk while placing his sword dangerously close to the man's face. "I believe you were going to rethink my proposal weren't you?"

"Y-yes." He stuttered in fright. There was a few moments of silence as the bar tender stared at Bear in fear.

"What's your answer?" The man still said nothing and Harry sighed. With a click of his fingers, Bear's grip on his neck tightened as his blade dug into his cheek. "Don't make me ask again. What's your answer?"

"Y-yes, for fucks sake, yes!" He shouted and Harry smiled. Patting the man's cheek, the Potter heir got out of his chair and made for the door, Bear following behind him.

"You won't regret this." Harry said and then he looked towards the wall. With a quick wave of his wand, the wall instantly began repairing itself. "If I need something I will send Bear or someone round to meet you. I expect you to uphold your end of the deal and I'll uphold my end. Also send one of your men to the Goblins, I have use for him." He indicated to the dying man.

With that he was gone, leaving the bar tender to rub his neck. He then turned to face the two kneeling men and snared angrily.

"What the fuck are you kneeling there for?! Get the rest of them up and clean this place up!" He roared and the two men did so with a grumble. Meanwhile the bar tender continued to glare at them, but his eyes trailed towards the door and became fearful. He knew that if he stepped out of line, they would be back. He liked living and would try to avoid doing that.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Stepping out onto the alley, Harry looked at the three guards who regarded his bodyguard with fear. Behind them he could see a few men and women looking at them curiously, but wisely knew not to do anything. Any business or fight that happened in Knockturn Alley was to be ignored because you may be drawn into it.

Raising his eyebrows at the guards, the three looked up at Bear before down to his blade only to see an ordinary hand, but they moved into the pub anyway.

"I knew the moment I saw you in Moribund's that you would be interesting, Heir Potter." Harry put on a charming smile and turned around to see the Greengrass family. With them he also saw Tracey Davis and what he assumed to be her family.

"Lord Greengrass." He bowed to the man and gave similar greetings to the others. "What brings you down to Knockturn Alley today?"

"My youngest daughter requires a wand." He placed his hand on his youngest, Astoria was her name if he remembered correctly.

"I'm assuming she is entering Hogwarts this year." Lord Greengrass nodded his head and Harry turned his smile towards the young girl. He found it incredibly amusing when she blushed and hid behind her mother. He wasn't the only one as the others, except for Daphne, showed various states of amusement at the byplay. "I'm terribly sorry, I seem to have been ignoring you, Lord Davis I assume?"

"You would be correct Heir Potter." Lord Davis answered. "Tell me, what business have you been conducting? It looked to be very…interesting."

"Oh, it was just business." The way in which he said it, made Lord and Lady Greengrass and Davis wary.

"I see." Lord Davis drawled. "Come along Tracey, we have our own affairs to get in order." It made Harry inwardly smirk as he realised that he scared a man who had survived through the Blood War, though it probably had something to do with the intimidating figure of Bear as well. "It was nice to finally meet you Heir Potter."

"And it was nice to meet you, Lord and Lady Davis. I shall see you at the start of the year, Tracey." The girl in question smiled and nodded her head before following after her father and mother.

"I guess we should also take out leave. Lord Davis is not the most, direction oriented individual." The joke made Harry snort in amusement.

"It was nice to see you again, Lord and Lady Greengrass." Then Harry turned and returned the shy wave given to him by Astoria with one of his own and a smile. "See you at Hogwarts Daphne."

"And you too…Harry." The boy in question smiled at the difficulty she had in referring to him by his actual name. Seems she still wasn't fully into the idea of calling him by his name. Giving the Greengrass family one more smile, Harry turned and left the alley.

As soon as they did, Harry was instantly noticed by those around them. There, shouts of his name gained the attention of more and more as they all piled up around him to get a look. Bear reacted and moved in front of the oncoming crowd and while no one could see the glare he was fixing on them, they could feel it.

"Move." It was a whisper, but he might as well have been shouting as they all flinched and moved out of the way as quickly as they could. Harry had to admit, Ripclaw had outdone himself.

 _'If this is the reaction a single one gets, I can't wait to see what the others will cause.'_ The thought made him give a chilling smile that went unnoticed by the crowd as they were frightfully fixated upon the intimidating stature of Bear.

"Harry, over here." Looking in the direction of the voice, he just managed to make out a small hand that appeared and disappeared over the tops of the crowd as the owner of the appendage jumped to be seen. Closing his eyes, he allowed his magic to flow into the ground like the Druids taught him and instantly his magical signature locked onto what seemed to be over a hundred other magical signatures. However, he ignored them all and instead focused on the magical signature that kept on jumping.

It was frustrating as every time he got a lock on the signature, it disappeared. So he then focused on the two signatures beside it. Both were distinctly familiar, but one stood out the most.

Sighing, Harry decided to take a risk and walked towards the signature. Bear glaring at anyone that got too close. When he exited the small prison of bodies he found himself looking at Neville, Susan and Hannah. All three had different looks on their faces. Hannah seemed to be more focused upon Neville, though she did spare him a smile and a wave. Harry smirked upon seeing the obvious crush Hannah had on the Longbottom heir. He couldn't wait to tell Blaise and Theo, Neville wouldn't here the end of it.

Susan, much like Hannah, hadn't changed much besides growing a little taller. She, unlike Hannah was completely fixated upon the ground, which Harry found strange as she had been the one that was trying to get his attention.

Neville had changed the most by far. He had grown tall and was around five foot with his baby fat starting to give way to muscle. However, he still looked quite chubby.

A grin formed on his face as Harry stepped forward and shook hands with Neville.

"You alright mate?" Neville greeted and Harry nodded his head as he felt Bear's presence disappear into the distance.

"Yea, you?"

"Never been better."

"I can see that. Put on a bit of muscle." Neville smirked and flexed his arms jokingly causing them both to chuckle in amusement. Harry then turned to Susan and Hannah and gave them one of his charming smiles. Susan blushed brightly and ducked her head, while Hannah's cheeks were only dusted pink slightly. "How are you two?"

"I'm good Harry, thank you for asking." All three turned to the blushing Susan who opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out except incoherent mumbling. "Susan's fine too, she's just lost the ability to speak." Susan blushed even brighter, but she also glared heatedly at her friend.

"Yes, it seems Susan has lost the ability to speak." Neville piped in and received a similar glare from Susan.

"Oh whatever will we do? To be denied the sound of Susan's voice is a travesty." Harry said dramatically and Hannah and Neville joined in with the theatrics. The Bones heiress seemed to be on the verge of passing out, but she was saved by the sound of clapping. The four turned around to see Blaise, Theo, Peter and Graham walking towards them.

"'Sup guys." Blaise greeted casually. Peter and Graham gave their own form of greetings, while Theo simply nodded his head, which was expected. He was never one to speak without reason.

They had all changed. Peter was around the same height as Harry, but much lankier. Theodore was the tallest of them all however, he was just as lanky as Peter, maybe a bit more. Blaise and Graham on the other hand were only slightly taller than they were last year, but each seemed to have become more toned.

The group conversed for a while as they moved through Diagon Alley. Most of the conversation steered towards the direction of what they had all done this holiday.

The Most Ancient and Noble House of Nott had discarded their plans of allying with the Grey faction under the rule of Jonathan Greengrass and had instead, allied with the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter. Blaise, Peter and Graham's families had followed in Theodore's family's footsteps and had done the same. However, the Ancient and Noble Houses of Montage and Pike had been named vassals, which was the only option available to them due to their status.

They had only accepted this because been a vassal to a house that was continuing to rise in power like his was would benefit them as well.

Neville and his grandmother had also revitalized the old alliance between their families. The Bones' had also re-joined the alliance and now Harry had all the old families that were a part of the Grand Alliance that were still around today, part of it once more, with a few extra houses along with it.

Harry also learned that Neville, Theo, Blaise, Peter and Graham had begun training with the retired Auror, Alastor Moody. From what he had heard, Moody was well-known throughout the Magical World as one of, if not the most infamous Auror with the greatest track record ever.

He could tell from the way his friends magical cores seemed to be larger, but much more refined than before. Neville's was almost comparable to his own, though nowhere near as controlled. Theodore and Blaise had the greatest control almost as good as his own.

"Sweet Merlin." Hannah gushed with a blush staining her cheeks. All of their group look towards her and then towards Flourish and Blotts to see a large cue of wizards and witches, mainly witches. It only took a few moments before they all saw the sign that mentioned Gilderoy Lockhart was doing a book signing.

Harry sneered in disgust and he turned to see that everyone except Hannah had the same look or similar disgust of the man, as him.

"Come on Susan." The Hufflepuff barely managed to gasp in surprise before she was dragged by her friend towards the bookshop. She spared a glance back at Harry before joining Hannah willingly so as to not be dragged along the floor. This action hadn't gone unnoticed by the others as Harry soon found out.

Turning around, the Potter heir turned to see them all having a knowing smile that seemed to fill him with dread. Narrowing his eyes in question, he asked unsurely.

"What?" This only seemed to make their smiles widen as they turned to each other and started whispering amongst themselves. "What?" Simultaneously, they all turned to look at him with Cheshire-cat grins on their faces.

"Harry and Susan sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." They all started singing, Peter and Graham forming kissing faces. "First comes love-"

Harry allowed his wand to reveal itself and all of them closed their mouths with an audible click that made those listening cringe. The Potter heir stared at them for a few more moments through narrowed eyes before nodding his head. Turning on his heel he walked towards the queue where Susan and Hannah were stood. Behind him, the boys studied his back and the wand still held in his hands. Then by some unspoken rule, they all followed after him.

"Susan, Hannah." The two girls looked towards him. "Come on, I'm not waiting in this queue."

"But Harry, I want to see Gilderoy, he's a legendary figure and has won Witch Weekly's most charming smile award five times in a row." Hannah gushed over the legendary figure. Beside her, Susan rolled her eyes at her friend. She then blushed brightly when she saw the amused smile directed towards her by Harry.

"He's a fraud." Those witches in hearing range all turned to glare at Blaise. Raising his hands in a placating manner, he then mumbled something under his breath that only Theodore heard causing the quiet boy to snort in mirth.

"Well, if Hannah is dead-set on visiting this legendary figure." The sarcasm in his voice was clearly heard as the witches once again turned to glare at him, but Bear who had disappeared so as to allow his master to interact with his friends, appeared and simply stood there. The cold glare not been seen, but felt. "Then let's go see him. Bear, if you wouldn't mind." He indicated towards the crowd and Bear who was about to disappear to guard his master from a distance.

The wraith like figure stalked forwards, giving an animalistic growl to anyone in his path. Behind him, Harry and company followed using the path created for them.

"Harry, who is that?" Theodore asked curiously.

"That is Bear, I met him over the holidays and saved his life. Since then he declared himself my loyal servant and has assigned himself to be my personal bodyguard. As you can see; he is very effective." They all watched as a wizard squared up at Bear, obviously trying to stand firm and not allow his position to go. Beside the wizard, a young girl tugged at the man's sleeve begging him to stop. The man refused and turned to Bear, only to find the throat gripped tightly. The crowd shrieked as they saw the man struggling to breathe as he clawed at the hand choking him.

"A little too effective." Blaise piped in. Sighing, Harry walked forwards and gripped hold of Bear's arm and instantly the man dropped to the ground, coughing and heaving for breath.

"That is enough Bear." Harry ordered and Bear bowed his head. Then he turned to the coughing man and pulled out a small bag of galleons. "I'm terribly sorry for that, Bear tends to get a little too eager when it comes to intimidating people." The wizard nodded his head as he stared up at him in a mix of shock and awe.

After that there was no incidents as they entered the shop and looked around. Hannah's squealing and her gaze allowed them to find Gilderoy instantly.

The legendary wizard was sat behind the desk in the middle of the shop. On either side of the desk were multiple books piled high, each with a picture of him printed on the front. To make the fool look even more arrogant, there was a cut-out image of him stood with a charming smile and wand in hand raised into the air.

"You can leave, Bear." The man bowed his head and apparated out of the shop. Hannah once again got into the queue with an unwilling Susan, while the rest of them moved towards a nearby bookshelf and occasionally would pull out a book and read the blurb.

"So, did they agree?" Blaise asked eagerly.

"In a way." Harry's answer was vague, something he did to purposely annoy Blaise. It worked, as the boy glared at him.

"Come on Harry, just answer the question before Blaise gets proper pissed." Peter pleaded jokingly as Blaise turned his glare towards him.

"Too late." Graham added and Neville cracked a smile before deciding to take pity on his brown skinned friend.

"Alright Harry, tell us what happened?"

"Well, they agreed to train me, but on the condition that I learned from their seven other students." This bit of information was surprising as not much was known about the Flamel's. To know that they had taken on seven students was quite interesting and many would pay money just to know information such as this. "The thing is, I have to learn the basics of the magic they specialise in before I can enter their homes."

"That's why you went to Ireland and Greenland." Neville said in understanding.

"Wait, what?" This was the question from Peter, Blaise and Graham.

"Yea, I went to Ireland and Greenland this summer. It was quite interesting and educational."

"What'd you learn?" Theodore pressed.

"Well, in Ireland I met a tribe of Druids and learnt how to manipulate nature itself. Not much, just little things like increase the rate in which the plants grow, and also learning to manipulate plant life and wildlife into doing basics such as, attacking and defending me. I also learnt to sense the vibrations in the ground allowing me to know what is happening beneath my feet, but also around me as people move and creating a magical sensing bubble. Anything that enters, I will instantly know it and it will create a lock on it." Harry explained.

"I heard about that." Graham said. "My great, great grandma joined a tribe of Druids after the death of her husband and would send letters to us about what she had learnt and seen."

"So, what did you learn in Greenland?" Peter asked this time.

"I learnt how to use Water and Wind magic in all sorts of situations. Attacks, defences, carving, etc." There was a short pause as Harry thought back to what else he had done. "Then I learnt how to combine the two to create Ice and how to manipulate Ice magic. Trust me, they make it look easy but it really isn't. After that it was pretty much just learning how to fight in close combat without a wand."

"You have to teach us." Blaise begged and Harry smirked.

"Of course I am. It just depends if you can actually do what I did." Neville leaned forward and jokingly slapped the back of his head.

"You're being arrogant like Malfoy." He explained, gaining a horror filled gaze from Harry and chuckles from the others.

"What about Malfoy?" The group looked towards the owner of the voice and saw the one person who had been the bane of their existence throughout the first year Hogwarts, even more so than Draco.

Ronald Weasley.

The boy had spread rumours about Harry being a dark wizard in the making. Even more so when he slayed the Troll, claiming it was done through the use of Dark magic. Each time Harry achieved something such as performing magic correctly, getting homework done to Outstanding, or just simply doing nothing, you could guarantee that he would come up with a new, more imaginative rumour. They were quite amusing.

"What are you doing here?" Peter sneered at him. Ronald flushed with anger at being looked down upon.

"I heard you talking bout Malfoy and wondered what you were on about." Ronald said, but they could hear him trying not to get angry as they still looked down at him.

"Ah, Harry Potter." An elderly voice said. All of them looked up to see a man with ginger hair walking towards them. Harry plastered a fake smile on his face and walked forwards. It became even more strained when he saw what seemed to be the rest of the Weasley family, minus Percy walking towards him. "Arthur Weasley, pleasure."

"Hadrian James Potter." He shook hands with Head of the Weasley family. To his shock, the Weasley matriarch pulled him into a deep hug that made Harry short of breath. Wriggling free, he glared at the woman. "I'd like it if you didn't do that again." His emerald eyes glowing ominously, making everyone watching hide away as they were reminded of the Killing Curse.

"Harry Potter, now you listen here. I –

"- no you will listen. I have never met you in my life and so I do not trust you. Not only that, but two of your children." He kept their names secret, but he turned to glare at Ron making it clear on who one of the children were. "Have constantly been spreading rumours and trying to get me in trouble all year. Only two of your children," he then turned to the Weasley twins, "have made the effort to befriend me without insulting me or anything of the sort. So don't think you can tell me what to do. I am my own person and will continue to be so." The Weasley matriarch turned a similar shade of red to her son.

Nodding his head at a job well done, he turned to Arthur, the young Weasley girl and the Weasley twins with a smile and bowed his head. Arthur returned his bow with one of his own, the Weasley's gave over exaggerated bows, while the girl blushed brightly and hid behind her elder brothers.

"Harry Potter, I cannot express how good it feels to finally meet you!" Harry ground his teeth together as he turned to see Gilderoy strutting towards him. Before he could even speak, his hand was forcibly being shook by Gilderoy and then he was blinded by a bright flash. "I can see us already on the front page of Witch Weekly." He gave another charming smile as another flash blinded him even more.

For a few moments, Harry stood dazed as he waited for the white spots to disappear from his eyes. Gilderoy however, did not wait and turned Harry around to face the crowd of witches.

Giving a grunt as he felt a pile of books thrust into his arms and knocked the wind out of him, Gilderoy began addressing the crowd.

"Out of the goodness of my heart, I will pay for the books required for this year's Defence Against the Dark Arts for Harry and his friends as I believe that a teacher should help his students." Another flash followed this declaration as the crowd murmured about the new development. "That's right, I, Gilderoy Lockhart, will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for Hogwarts."

A few more flashes later and Harry then found himself back with his friends, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to see once more.

"Look at you, Potter. Can't go to a simple bookstore without getting your name on the front page." An arrogant and disgust-filled voice drew the group's attention towards the Malfoy family. The two male Malfoy's strutted in a manner more arrogant than Gilderoy, while Narcissa seemed to glide towards them.

"Shut up!" A young female voice exclaimed drawing everyone's gaze towards the young Weasley girl. Upon seeing everyone's attention on her, the girl blushed and disappeared behind the bodies of her family members.

"Got yourself a girlfriend I see, Potter." Draco sneered. This made the young Weasley blush bright red, while the Weasley matriarch smiled widely at the development.

"Hardly." He found it incredibly satisfying to see the Weasley matriarchs smile drop. For some reason he believed that he should be careful around her, his mind told him that she would do something eventually, but he didn't know what.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Neville asked.

"I'd watch how you speak to your betters, Squib." Draco snarled angrily.

"When I see one, you'll be the first one to know." Neville shot back, much to the enjoyment of those watching as they saw Draco flush red with anger and humiliation.

"Enough Draco." Lucius ordered and Draco looked like he was about to argue, but a glare from his father stopped him instantly.

"I suggest you keep your son under control Lord Malfoy." Blaise said, but his eyes lowered when he saw Lucius turn his glare towards him. Seeing this, Harry stepped forwards to take the brunt of Lucius's anger. While allied to his family now, the others were unwilling to stand up to the Malfoy's yet. It was understandable, each had grown to fear the power the Malfoy's had brought using their vast wealth.

"Like Blaise was saying, keep your son under control. He insulted the heir of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Longbottom, a house that is better than your own in all aspects. Not only that, but they are allied to my family. If your son continues, I will bring forth your sons claims to the Goblins." The threat made the pale complexion of Draco become even paler, while Lucius narrowed his eyes, before giving a stiff nod of his head.

"Come Draco." Narcissa said, while pushing Draco away from the group. Lucius soon followed.

"Bloody hell, that was awesome!" Ron exclaimed. Blaise sneered at the lack of tact before walking out of the shop. Theodore, Peter and Graham following afterwards.

"You sure that was wise?" Susan asked as she walked towards them with a bag held in her hand.

"Oh yea, the Malfoy's needed to be reminded of their standing in Britain." Neville spoke up, while glaring at Draco's back. His hatred of the word 'squib' was well-known, having been referred to being as such for a large part of his life.

"Ok." Susan held up the bag with a smile on her face. "I got the books he said he would buy for our group. He didn't look happy when he found out how much he would be paying for."

"Thank you Susan." The Bones heiress blushed brightly at the smile she received from Harry, and shyly nodded her head. Hannah and Neville rolled their eyes at Susan's actions before the four of them left the shop to find the others.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry's eyes snapped open in shock when he heard a screeching noise in his room, his mind taking a few moments to fully wake up before he cast the Wand-Lighting charm to allow him to see what was going on.

His eyes instantly looked onto the sight of Balthazar wrapped tightly around the body of a House Elf tightly. The creature pitifully wriggled, trying desperately to break free but Balthazar only wrapped around him tighter.

 _§Balthazar, release him. §_ The order was followed without question as the creature was released with a gasp. Stepping out of bed, Harry summoned his wand to his hand and pointed it at the House Elf, his eyes narrowing as the creature looked up at him in shock. "Now, do you mind telling me why you are in my room?" The creature looked towards Balthazar, before turning back to Harry.

"Dobby is here to warn Harry Potter." The creature whispered in awe.

"Warn me of what?" Harry pressed, the creature wrapped its fingers around his wand hand and stared deeply into Harry's eyes, something which greatly unnerved him.

"Warn you of terrible things, sir. Terrible things are going to happen at Hogwarts, sir." Then out of nowhere, the Elf began slamming its head against the wall. Each time shouting, 'Bad Dobby!' With a quick indication of his hand, Balthazar shot forwards and wrapped around Dobby's body, stopping it from moving. Even then it continued to struggle. A hiss from Balthazar that revealed its fangs froze the creature.

"Dobby." The Elf turned to Harry with tear filled eyes and Harry was instantly reminded of a younger version of himself that used to suffer at the hands of his relatives. "What terrible things?" Dobby shook his head rapidly.

"Dobby cannot say sir, Dobby cannot say." Sighing, he indicated for Dobby to be released.

"Go home Dobby." The creature shared a glance with Balthazar before turning back to Harry.

"Harry Potter sir, must agree not to go back to Hogwarts." Dobby all but begged.

"Just go Dobby, before I get annoyed. I need my sleep." Balthazar hissed and slithered towards the House Elf threateningly. With a quick screech, Dobby apparated out of his room and to wherever he belonged.

Sighing, Harry collapsed onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. His mind alight with not only what Dobby said, but the rune he had seen inscribed onto Dobby's magical core. It was unlike anything he had seen before, ancient and extremely powerful.

 _'That must be what keeps the Elves from returning to their original power. I need to get hold of my heritage and find out what seal he used and how to break it.'_ Harry thought. Already he could imagine what he could do with an army of powerful warriors. _'But what did he mean about terrible things? Great, now I can't sleep.'_ Groaning, Harry cast a quick spell that showed the time.

03:00.

His groans increased even more as he realised he had to wait for another four hours until he and the others had agreed to meet on the train.

Pushing himself out of bed he got changed into a pair of sporty clothing before leaving the Leaky Cauldron for a jog around the quiet alley. He could sense the presence of Bear a little ways away.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"You look a little tired." Blaise mocked for what seemed to be the millionth time and like he had done previously, Harry glared at him with his glowing emerald eyes. Last year the sight had been terrifying, now the effect had worn off.

"Alright, let's leave Harry alone now. He's had a lot of problems as it is." Neville decided to play the peacekeeper between the two of them. Even so, he found Harry's situation incredibly amusing. The train had been about to set off, before Harry arrived. His excuse having been that the barrier had been closed, making it impossible to pass through. Then he had suffered a long train ride to Hogwarts being teased constantly by Blaise, Peter and Graham.

Susan had tried to defend him, but then she had been teased by the three, along with Neville and Hannah. The girl had blushed a shade of red so bright that they all thought she would pass out. She didn't, but she did keep quiet for the rest of the journey.

"Come on, this one here." Theodore, who had walked ahead interrupted as he indicated towards an empty carriage. All of them got on, but Harry stayed outside as he stared at the horse like creatures at the front of the carriage.

"Come on Harry!" Peter blurted out as he stuck his head out of the carriage.

"Don't you see them?" Harry asked breathlessly, as he walked towards the strange creatures.

"See what?" Harry turned around and stared at Peter incredulously.

"You don't see them?" Walking towards the creatures, he raised one hand and stroked the creature's neck. It leaned in to his touch and Harry found himself marvelling at the rough, but smooth quality of its hide.

"Harry, you're starting to creep me out." Peter said worriedly. Pulling away, Harry stepped into the carriage and tried to think on what the creature was.

"What were you doing?" Theodore asked.

"I was looking at the creatures pulling the carriage."

"Harry, nothing pulls the carriage, it pulls itself." Graham informed.

"Unless it was invisible to only a select few." Blaise answered the unasked question.

"Threstral's." Neville spoke gaining everyone's attention. "They can only be seen by those that have witnessed death. Hardly any child has seen death so it would make sense to have them pull the carriage."

"Were they a horse-like creature?" Theodore asked.

"Yep, though unlike any horse I've ever seen."

"Then it was definitely a Threstral." No one dared ask who Harry had seen die, each of them knowing, or could at least guess, who he had seen. The ride up to Hogwarts was done in an awkward silence, no one dared talk due to what had happened.

Entering Hogwarts, the eight of them moved towards the Great Hall before separating into two groups. Neville, Susan and Hannah going towards the Hufflepuff table, while Harry, Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham moved towards the Slytherin table. For a few moments, the five of them sat speaking about odd bits and pieces that held no relevance to anything important. Then the door opened and in came the crowd of First years.

"Pst, guys." Harry and the others turned to look at Blaise in confusion. "Were we that small?"

"Blaise, you're not that much taller than them." The brown skinned Slytherin glared at Graham who returned it with a smirk.

"Shut up Graham." Harry and Peter restrained themselves from bursting out in laughter, and instead sniggered as quietly as possible. There was a few more jabs at Blaise, who was the smallest in their group. He in turn returned fire as best as he could, but it was obvious he was running out of insults. This only served to fuel their entertainment.

They hadn't realised that they had missed the beginning of year speech and the induction of the First years, until food appeared over the tables.

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait on this chapter, but I finally managed to finish it. Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review so that I know what you think and if you have any ideas.**


	8. Duelling Club and Quidditch

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 7: Duelling Club and Quidditch.**

 **A/N: I'd like to thank my beta reader JadeKitty for going through this chapter and for all the work that has been done on improving my grammar and what not for my previous chapters.**

 **Summary:**

 _In the last chapter Harry convinced Augusta Longbottom to hand him the stone and then returned it to Nicolas Flamel. He then is given a portkey and goes to Rome, just outside the Colosseum. After solving two riddles and two questions with the help of Hedwig, Harry realises that he must go to Norway and Ireland._

 _Then he returns to Gringotts and speaks with Ripclaw about his projects. First he goes to see how three injured individuals who had believed irreparable been turned into modified killing machines. He then goes to the other project and finds a group of muggleborns training under the instruction of Goblins._

 _Afterwards Harry spends the rest of the holidays training and when he returns he collects Bear, one of the finished members of Project Cadmus and takes him to a pub in Knockturn Alley that was the only business establishment not under his control. After defeating the bodyguards and making the owner agree to his demands Harry meets and talks with the Greengrass and Davis family._

 _Then Harry meets with his friends in Diagon Alley and from there they go to Flourish and Blotts to meet Gilderoy Lockhart at the insistence of Hannah. After a brief argument outside they enter and Harry is almost instantly they meet with the Weasley's. Gilderoy and the Malfoy's also get involved and after dealing with them, Harry and co leave._

 _Next morning Harry is woken up by a House Elf and with the help of Balthazar get it to say why it has come. Due to Dobby's insistence that something bad is going to happen, Harry is unable to sleep and is very tired the following day._

"Normal speak"

 _'Normal thought'_

 _"Spells,"_

 _§Parseltongue§_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Power, all creatures strive for it. It is a universal instinct to defeat those who threaten your existence. To do that, they must become more powerful and in doing so, they would go to great lengths to get that power. If they fail, there life is forfeit.

In Slytherin House, power means everything. The strong prey on the weak and no matter what rules have been put in place to create a safe environment, the students of this great house follow one simple rule. Only the strong survive and the weak die. Those that are weak tie themselves to the strong. In doing so they make the stronger, stronger.

Naturally, the strong would feel threatened when their power base is threatened and naturally they search for those who threaten them. When they found them, they destroyed them so that they can never be a threat again.

Now was no different.

Each and every single member of Slytherin House were gathered in the common room to listen to the new Head Prefects for Slytherin House explain the inner workings to the First Years. This was a cover-up. In fact, they were all judging the First Years to see how each would benefit or threaten them later on in life.

Once the Prefects were finished and the First Years had retired upstairs to their new dormitories the atmosphere changed. It was like an echo, a voce constantly whispering in their ear of something going to happen. Something that could possibly ruin the future plans of their members.

Harry sat calmly on the second inner ring of the Slytherin common room. Beside him sat Blaise and Theodore, while on two armchairs next to the sofa he was sat on sat, Peter and Graham.

It was a common seating arrangement in Slytherin. The leader of a group sat in between his two top supporters, with the other supporters surrounding them. Daphne and Draco were in the same seating arrangement. But while Daphne's group was close to Harry's, Draco's was detached completely from them both. This showed the balance of power in their year. And it didn't look good for Draco.

Though, Harry had noticed the way Draco seemed to be calm and smug. As if his victory for Year leader was all but assured. It confused him greatly. Marcus Flint wasn't captain of the Quidditch team anymore, instead that position belonged to Adrian Pucey, a chaser and one of the only members on the team to disagree with Marcus Flint when he choose to support Harry.

Then it clicked in Harry's mind that Draco, well Draco's father was up to his old tricks. Paying the Quidditch captain to support his son in becoming leader.

 _'_ _Now that won't do, that won't do at all.'_ Harry thought as his mind tried to think of a way in which he could use this to his advantage. He would have to do some research on Adrian, perhaps, Graham or Peter would be up to the task. It was about time he began to trust his supporters with tasks. Allow them to grow and become more useful to him in the long term. _'Yes, I'll have Peter find everything he can about Adrian, while Graham could study Draco. He's far too confident and it worries me. Blaise can be my liaison between my group and Daphne's, while Theodore will stay close. While I trust my skills in magic, I can't afford to be outnumbered should Draco do something rash.'_

With his plan in mind, Harry slowly stood up catching the attention of the rest of Slytherin house. In total only around two thirds were still present, the rest having retired to their dormitories.

"So, it has been made aware to me that there is a tradition involving Third Year and above Slytherin's forcing themselves upon female students as to gain there hand in marriage." There was a few moments of silence as he allowed the statement to settle into the Slytherin's mind. "Now, I know this is tradition, but I know another tradition that has been around for far longer than this one."

"Oh really." Draco sneered. Harry turned to face the Malfoy heir and gave a condescending smirk. "And what would this tradition be?"

"Well, have you ever heard of a Ward?" There was a gasp of shock from many Slytherin's. Naming someone a Ward meant that if one person attacked the Ward, they were attacking the family who proclaimed that person their Ward. Many a war had been started due to this.

"You can't be serious, there hasn't been a Ward in over a century!" A random Slytherin student exclaimed.

"Well, there are six now. I name, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracey Davis, Millicent Bulstrode and Hestia and Flora Carrow are now Wards of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter until they graduate Hogwarts. Any who try and do something to any of them without their position will be declared enemies of my family." His voice was strong and calm, letting everyone know he was deadly serious about his decision.

More than a few stared at Harry and his group along with those now proclaimed Wards with anger and annoyance. Many of which had planned to do exactly what was now forbidden to them. Now all of them were deadest on learning everything they could about Wards any loophole they could find in it. None of them willing to lose the prize of Greengrass fortune and the beauty that Daphne would become.

Smirking, Harry headed towards his dorm, knowing that what he wanted done was done. Behind him, Blaise and Theodore nodded their head in Daphne's direction before taking a look around the common room.

It was obvious Harry had once again proven himself to be a bold but incredibly strategic individual. In a single move Harry had destroyed many plans that had been formed around getting at those six individuals. Because of that many powerbases would suffer, making way for a power struggle. Something they had no doubt Harry would capitalise on.

Another smirk crossed their features before they began speaking with Peter and Graham before leaving for the dormitory they shared with Harry.

Draco meanwhile, glared hatefully at the place where Harry once sat, his teeth grinding against one another. Then his eyes locked onto Daphne's position. He could see the relief and the slight smile upon her face at Harry's act and it drove him mad with rage.

His father promised him that Daphne would be his bride to be, but only if he could get to her during the Slytherin tradition. Harry had ruined that and now he would have to get through Harry to get to her, something he was very wary of doing. While arrogant, he knew that Harry would destroy him in a straight up duel. Add that with Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham he would end up making a lot of enemies for his family. Something his father would be incredibly angry about.

 _'_ _I will not lose to you again Potter, I'll get Adrian and the Quidditch team to deal with you soon enough.'_ Daphne would be his bride whether she liked it or not. His father had promised him that.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Over with Daphne and her group consisting of – herself, Tracey, Flora, Hestia and Millicent were all in varying degrees of shock. Daphne was by far, the least shocked out of them all because Harry had told of his plan to do this. However, she was still in shock that he went through with it, thinking that it was false bravado on his part.

Entering her dormitory with Tracey and Millicent, the three girls sat on their respective beds. While Millicent had originally been a supporter of Draco, she had eft after Harry killed the Troll. Despite lacking in magical ability, Millicent was a very intimidating girl due to her surprisingly muscular stature and so, when she left Draco's group, Daphne recruited her before anyone else could.

"Is that smile I see on our resident Ice Queen's face?" Tracey asked teasingly. Unlike Daphne who kept her emotions hidden constantly, Tracey wore them proudly letting everyone know how she was feeling. But that was what everyone thought, only Daphne, Blaise and Theodore were the ones that new Tracey could fake her emotions. This made it very easy to trick everyone and this was why, Tracey was Daphne's secret weapon. While people were focused on her, they forgot completely about Tracey.

"Shut up." That was all Daphne said as she started getting ready for bed.

"Millicent, I do believe that dear Daphne here is smitten by the Boy-Who-Lived." Millicent smiled before putting on a mask of fake shock.

"I never thought I'd see the day." Glaring at the two, Daphne in a childish way collapsed on her bed with a huff.

"I hate both of you." While out of character for her, Daphne felt safe in her dormitory, safe enough to allow her mask to fade. "And I'm not smitten, I'm grateful for what he's done, nothing more. I know that the tradition has been on your mind just as much as it has been on mine. Now we don't have to worry about it as much because if they go through Harry we will know allowing us time to prepare." Tracey nodded her head, but her teasing smile was still on her face.

Sighing, Daphne closed her eyes waiting for sleep to come, knowing that Tracey would not let this go for a long while.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next morning things were once again tense, even the First Year Slytherin's could tell something had happened between the upper years. Things had changed completely. Over two thirds of the groups in Slytherin had broken apart, with members either branching off and forming their own group or joining existing ones. Only the Second, Third and Seventh Years had some form of stability, but even then things were shaky.

While unsurprised by the turn of events, Harry was shocked by the effectiveness. Already he could tell that the upper years would begin tearing each other apart in an attempt for power, allowing him to work underneath the radar and potentially recruit some upper years before they were swept up by anyone else.

Looking at Blaise and Theodore he saw that they two were surprised by what had happened. Though, they were quick to recover.

Entering the Great Hall, they found Peter and Graham had already got them a seat on the Slytherin table. Walking forwards they took their seat and began piling food on their plates, while more and more students entered the hall.

"So, when you gonna start teaching us what you learned other the holidays?" Blaise asked eagerly after a few moments of watching the Slytherin's interacting.

Swallowing his bit of toast Harry answered, "On the weekends, I'm going to get permission from Professor Flitwick to use one of the empty classrooms as a makeshift training room. But, you four are gonna have to get up early with me on a morning to do some physical exercises."

"Yea sure, so what will you be teaching us first?"

"Meditation."

"So no awesomely powerful elemental attacks?" Peter asked dejectedly.

"Nah, the meditation will help you to connect with your magical core, which in turn mean you won't waste as much magic when using spells."

Every wizard/witch, no matter how powerful or in control of their magical core will always release excess magic that isn't part of the spell. However, the better their control over their magic is, the less excess magic there is meaning they can fight for longer without there been a huge drain on their magical core. A wizard/witch will also have to take into account the spell itself. The more powerful the spell, the more excess magic there is to create it.

Greater control can also mean that the spells are more powerful. If two wizards/witches of equal strength fired a Reductor Curse with the same amount of magic it would be a stalemate. However, if one was to overpower their spell it is expected that they would win the battle. But, if the other wizard/witch had greater control they could use less magic and potentially win or get another stalemate.

For a couple of minutes the five of them ate their breakfast will talking about what they did over the holidays. Stopping only when Professor Snape delivered them their timetable. Much like last year, Snape seemed to despise Harry but was willing to keep it professional between the two of them.

"Peter." His voice had dropped to a mere whisper now. "Can you find everything you can about Adrian? I think he might be working for Draco and with it, Malfoy has a chance of becoming leader."

"Yea, I can do that." Peter nodded his head in agreement.

"Graham watch the upper years and Draco. I want to know what's going on with them." Graham nodded his head, happy to know that Harry was trusting them more. "Blaise you're the friendliest with Daphne and her group so could you…"

"Make sure that she is still willing to support you?" Blaise finished questioningly.

"Yea, it would be a huge help."

"Don't worry about it. If Draco becomes leader he'll make it incredibly difficult for us lot to live in Slytherin House." Blaise explained his reasoning.

"I'm guessing you want to keep me close by so that they won't be able to outnumber me because unlike this rabble, I have some measure of skill." He sneered at the other three jokingly causing them to glare at him in mock anger. All of them knowing it was done in good fun with no real malice involved.

"So, with our assignments given to us by our great and exalted leader." Blaise said dramatically. "It's time for us to go to our first lesson, which so happens to be Transfiguration, followed by DADA with Lockhart." The five of them released a sigh at this, each of them agreeing that Lockhart was a bumbling fool with no real talent.

Smacking Blaise on the back of the head, Harry stood up and made for the door followed by the others. Luckily, Transfiguration was with the Hufflepuff's and not the Gryffindor's, otherwise they would have had to deal with Weasley the entire lesson.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

After saying goodbye to Neville, Susan and Hannah, the group of Slytherin Second Years made their way towards the DADA classroom where they would be taught by the exalted Gilderoy Lockhart. None of them looked particularly happy by this in fact, all had a permanent scowl upon their faces as they walked through the corridors.

When they arrived at the classroom, the door was still locked indicating that the lesson had not yet begun. Surrounding the door there were a few Gryffindor's, but there were more Slytherin's stood waiting patiently.

Daphne, Tracey and Millicent were three such Slytherin's that stood waiting. Seeing this, and noticing how Millicent had placed herself between the other two girls and Draco made it clear on what was happening. Looking towards the others, Harry could see that they had come to the same conclusion.

"Ah, Daphne how good to see you." Harry greeted with a smile on his face. Daphne stopped listening to Tracey and turned to face Harry. While confused for a moment, the subtle movement of his eyes in Draco's direction told her of his aims. She gave no outward reaction instead, she nodded her head towards him as a sign of acknowledgement. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Draco.

The Malfoy heir in question glared hatefully at Harry's back and indicated for Crabbe and Goyle to move forwards.

The two grunts stepped forwards threateningly, but before they could get any further Graham and Peter interfered. Despite not been as fat as the two, they were taller and had much more muscle definition. Behind them Harry and Blaise continued to converse with Daphne and Tracey while Theodore moved to stand behind Peter and Graham to offer assistance if need be.

Before anything could happen, the door opened revealing Gilderoy Lockhart with his charming smile in place. All the girls except, Daphne and Tracey swooned. Even Pansy Parkinson, who seems to be infatuated with Draco swooned over the teacher, something which further angered Draco.

"Welcome, I see your all in bright spirits and eager to learn all that I can teach you." Gilderoy finally said after everyone was seated in the classroom. He flashed the class a smile and gained a collective sigh from most girls as they stared dreamily at him. If that wasn't obvious enough, practically every girl was at the front, each leaning forwards to gain a better look at him.

Beside Harry, Blaise released a groan of annoyance as he leaned back on his chair. Harry and Theodore spared him an amused glance before turning to listen to Lockhart explain this year's curriculum.

"Now then, before we begin I would like to see how much of my books you have already read." He flicked his wand and with it, sheets of paper floated around the room before landing in front of each student. "You have till the end of the lesson to finish. Begin." With that, Gilderoy sat at his desk and picked up a mirror.

Rolling his eyes, Harry nudged Blaise and inclined his head towards Gilderoy. While confused, Blaise looked towards him and then the mirror that the Professor was looking in exploded. Shards of glass going everywhere, some sticking out of his face. There was a few moments of silence as every pair of eyes snapped towards their frozen Professor, then Gilderoy shot to his feet and gave an ear splitting scream.

Everyone watched as he began running around in a circle screaming, "Get it out!"

Blaise turned to face Harry and both shared a smirk. Something that Theodore saw from beside them. He turned towards Peter and Graham and got them to look towards the two.

Confidently Harry stood up brandishing his wand will he did so.

"Don't worry Professor, I can help you." With a flick of his wand, all the shards of glass came loose and with another screech of pain, Gilderoy ran from the room to go to the Medical Wing leaving a room filled with a range of thoughts on what just happened.

Then all the boys and some girls burst out laughing, some going as far as collapsing to the ground in a fit of laughter. Even those who thought Professor Lockhart was the best wizard in the world were trying their hardest not to laugh, but some gave in to temptation and joined the rest of the class.

Sitting back down as to steady himself, Harry felt that this was beginning to look like an incredibly fun year.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It didn't take long for the group to once again fall into routine of school work, but it did take a while for them to get used to the extra work they did alongside it. Every morning the group including Neville and occasionally Susan and Hannah would go out for a jog and then do some exercises.

After that they would go to classes, but in between if they had a free period they would go to the library and study what they wanted. Then after lessons were done they would all go to the abandoned classroom where Harry would teach them what he had learned over the holiday. So far only a month had gone by, but teach had shown varying levels of progression.

Blaise and Theodore were already progressing the most having already been able to sense the vibrations and use the basics of wind and water magic. Though neither had progressed onto Ice magic nor were struggling with plant magic.

On the other hand, Neville was progressing slowly with elemental magic, though he was by far the strongest when it came to manipulating plant life and sensing vibrations. Even Harry admitted that if they were to use just those two abilities then it would be a close fight. It'd probably be a draw, if not a loss on his part.

Peter, Graham, Susan and Hannah were all making slow progress having been able to sense the vibrations and slightly manipulate nature. Though they had made no advancement in learning Water, Wind and Ice magic.

While this was one of the main parts of their school days, that didn't mean they hadn't been keeping an eye on the workings of Slytherin.

The upper years had already begun tearing into one another. The Third and Fourth years had already had a leader that had come out on top. The Fifth and Sixth years were nearing the final stages of election, while the Seventh years were only just beginning to get halfway through.

Out of the seventeen groups, only three remained.

One downside too this had been that there had been no opportunity for him to gain any followers in the upper years.

Adrian and Draco had also been making this past couple of weeks. Adrian had tried on a few occasions to 'deal' with him. Thankfully, Harry and Theo had been out in the open surrounded by quite a few students from the other three houses. This meant that if he was attacked, there would be a lot of students that could attest to it been Adrian who was last in his presence.

Draco on the other hand had been trying to muscle him in to giving up, but every time Crabbe and Goyle got too close to him they would be beaten.

It was night now, the five Slytherin's were currently walking down the corridor. They had just finished training in the classroom and now they were making their way back towards the common room. Neville, Hannah and Susan had made their way towards the Great Hall for something to eat.

 _§Kill! §_ Harry froze and looked around to face the wall. Peter had to grab hold of Graham's robes to stop him from walking into Harry's back, while Blaise and Theodore continued walking a few steps before turning around to stare at him.

"What is it?" Graham asked curiously.

 _§Kill! §_ This time it was coming from further down the corridor. Harry quickly shot forwards down the corridor leaving four very confused Slytherin's in his wake. They shared a glance before turning towards Harry who had recently come to a stop as he stared at the wall.

"What's got him so worried?" Peter inquired. Blaise shrugged his shoulders and he walked forwards followed by Graham. Seeing as he hadn't been given an answer, Peter turned to Theodore but saw that he too had also walked towards Harry. "And I've been ignored again." Sighing, Peter joined his friends beside Harry.

For a few moments Harry would run from wall to wall, his emerald eyes flickering all around.

"Right Harry, enough." Blaise finally said while gripping hold of his wrist, stopping him from moving any further forwards.

"Yea, I think I can safely say for all of us, that you're creeping us out." Graham added. Taking a deep breath, Harry turned and nodded his head as a sign that he had calmed down.

"What the hell is going on with you?" Theodore asked.

"I didn't realise it at first, but something in the walls is speaking Parseltongue." Harry told them.

"Parseltongue?" Graham continued unsurely.

 _§Kill! Feast! I must feed! §_ The vice spoke once more, this time it was much louder and the four heard the sound of a hiss.

"Okay, now I'm a believer." Blaise whispered as they looked at the walls. They then all heard the hiss moving further and further down until it disappeared around a corner. Instantly -the five of them rushed in that direction and found the sight that greeted them to be the thing they least expected.

Written in blood on the wall was, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened enemies of the heir…beware' and next to it was the limp form of Mrs Norris.

"Oh shit." Blaise, Graham and Peter said at the same time. Harry and Theodore meanwhile turned in the direction of footsteps. Then from around the corner more students arrived, then more and more. It seems that dinner had finished and all the students were making the way towards their respective common rooms.

"What the hell?" A random student shouted out loud.

"Coming through." The sound of Professor McGonagall ordered as she pushed the crowd apart so that she could see what was going on. When she got to the front she gasped in shock at what she saw on the wall. A few moments went by as McGonagall tried her best to figure out what was going on and in that time many of the other Professors had arrived.

"See that, all you mudbloods better be prepared." Draco sneered in the direction of Hermione Granger.

"Ten points from Slytherin Mr Malfoy." McGonagall said. He was unperturbed by this and simply continued to look smug and proud of himself. Like he knew this was going to happen. However, Harry had known him for an entire year and knew this was the face he put on when he was trying to hide his fear.

"It was you!" Filch growled out angrily while pointing and accusing finger at Harry and his friends. All the students turned and looked towards Harry in shock. "You killed Mrs Norris!"

"I don't like your accusations, Squib." Harry shot back.

Filch snarled angrily and went to step forwards, but Mr Dumbledore gave a light cough to clear his throat. While still brimming with anger, Filch stepped backwards and Harry stood their looking every inch of a smug Slytherin.

"Now Filch, Mrs Norris is in fact very much alive. She is in fact," he moved forwards and studied Mrs Norris closer, "petrified." He hummed and turned towards Mr Potter. "If you will come with me Mr Potter I need to have a quick word with you." Many students gasped and began gossiping between each other.

 _'_ _Mother and Father said that Dumbledore was a sneaky bastard but this is just unbelievable.'_ Theodore thought in shock. _'He all but admitted to believing that Harry was the one who did this and no one will question him due to his knowledge of magic and his history. It's hard to believe he was a Gryffindor and not a Slytherin.'_

Theodore shared a glance with the others and saw that they had come up to the same conclusion that he had.

Harry meanwhile was calm and cool, but internally he was seething. Dumbledore had trapped him, turned the entire student body from believing that he was the saviour and now a Dark Lord in the making that would petrify cats.

 _'_ _Well played Dumbledore, well played.'_ Harry conceded this fact. He wasn't only angry with Dumbledore for what he had done, but at himself because he had completely forgotten about Dumbledore. Now the man had made the first move and put him on the back foot.

Sighing, Harry followed after Dumbledore as the students talked about what had happened.

Entering the office, Harry took a seat while completely ignoring Fawkes. Dumbledore took a seat also and stroked his Phoenix's feathers.

"Lemon Drop." He waved his hand over the ball of sweets with a twinkle in his eyes. Shaking his head, Harry watched Dumbledore place one in his mouth and take joy in the way it stimulated his taste buds.

"May I ask you a question, Professor?" Harry queried. Dumbledore smiled benevolently and nodded his head. "Why did you do what you did?"

"I don't know what you mean?" Dumbledore bemusedly asked. Harry had to stifle a growl of anger at the innocent act Dumbledore was trying to put on. His anger was at a boiling point due to his mistake in forgetting about the threat that sat before him.

"Please Professor, don't act innocent, you're not fooling anyone in this room." Leaning back into the chair, Harry rested his right cheek against his fist. "You intentionally made it seem like I was the one who petrified Mrs Norris." Dumbledore continued to smile, but this time his eyes were twinkling even brighter.

"I assure you Mr Potter that that, was not my intention at all." Once again Harry felt his anger reaching a breaking point. If things continued Harry knew he would lash out at Dumbledore.

"Then why did you ask me here?" He all but spat out.

"I wanted to know about what subjects you will be interested in taking next year."

"Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures. Now, if you don't mind I have better things to do with my time." Standing up Harry walked out of the Headmasters Office while Dumbledore sat stroking Fawkes calmly.

 _'_ _Let the games begin Mr Potter.'_ His grandfatherly smile turned into the smile of a predator luring his prey into a trap. _'Hopefully you can survive because in this game you either win or you die. There is no constellation prize.'_

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The next morning things were extremely tense. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor believed that Harry was the one who petrified Mrs Norris. Even some of the Slytherin's believed it was him, not that it bothered the Potter heir in the slightest.

However, Draco wasn't satisfied with most the school not liking Harry. He wanted the entire school to hate or at least dislike him. He wanted Harry to be humiliated and what better way to humiliate a World Champion Duellist than been defeated by a nobody. Ronald Weasley to be exact.

With the new Duelling club having been put in place under the tutelage of an unknown Professor. Draco knew this was his chance to convince the entirety of Slytherin house that he was the true future ruler of Slytherin house.

"Hello Weasley." Draco greeted. The youngest Weasley male looked up from where he sat in the Great Hall, his friends having gone off to finish their homework while he was going to leave it to the last second like he always did.

Ron glared at him. "What'd you want Malfoy?" Waggling his finger from side to side, Draco sat down across from him. Thankfully there were very few people around to see this.

"Tut, tut. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" Ron stood up threateningly, but two hands went to his shoulder forcing him back down into his seat. Looking up, he saw that Crabbe and Goyle were stood over him threateningly. "Now, the reason I came to you of all people is because we share a common hatred for a singular person."

"Who?" Draco sighed at the lack of brains that Ron had.

"Hadrian." Realisation lit up on his face. "Hadrian is joining the Duelling club are you?" Ron nodded his head. "Then it gives you the chance to beat Hadrian and humiliate him in front of everyone." The two shared a smirk at the thought of Harry been beaten.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Three weeks later marked the start of the Quidditch cup. The first game starting with a match between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Harry was quite disappointed that he hadn't made the team thanks to Draco bribing his way onto the team. That didn't mean Harry was going to allow the opportunity of entering the Quidditch team slip from his grasp.

While offering enjoyment for both those who watched and played. It also offered a strong political position in the Houses, more so in Slytherin. If you did well then you would gain favour from the rest of the house, if you did badly you would lose favour.

There was just as much to gain as there was to lose.

So here he sat, listening to Draco bragging about his ability to fly and all the fake stories of his past adventures. It was quite amusing to listen to. Made even funnier by Blaise's sarcastic replies to Draco's stories.

When Draco stood up to leave for the Great Hall for something to eat followed by Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, Harry stood up and followed after them. Theodore, Blaise, Peter and Graham followed after him.

On their way they came across Neville who stood leaning against the wall. By his feet lay the four Slytherin's they had been following.

"Nice on Neville." Peter congratulated. Neville smiled and together the six of them gathered around the four unconscious Slytherin's. Harry nodded his head in his direction gaining ne in turn before he woke them up.

"W-what? Potter!" Draco snarled.

"Actually, you been unconscious is all my work." Neville spoke up. Draco glared with hate a hate filled gaze at all of them, but mainly Harry and Neville.

"Oh how the might have fallen." Graham said. "The Great Draco Malfoy defeated by a boy he once thought was a simple Squib." Peter laughed, while the others smirked in amusement.

"What do you want with us?" Pansy asked frightfully.

"We don't want anything to do with you three, just Draco here." Theodore informed them. "We want to make a deal."

"What deal?" Draco asked.

"Everyone knows that you bought yourself onto the team. If Slytherin lose this match then you have to resign from your position on the team and won't run for leader again." Draco opened his mouth to protest but Harry took other.

"However, if Slytherin win then I won't run for Slytherin leader and I'll even offer you an alliance between House Malfoy and House Potter." All of them could see Draco contemplating the pros and cons of this arrangement. If he did won he would stand to gain more than he would lose.

"Do we have a deal?" Blaise questioned and Draco nodded his head. "Then that concludes business. Have fun out there." With that the six turned and left, each planning to make sure that Draco lost no matter what.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

It was slightly chilly and a normal person would have been wrapped in a couple of layers to make sure that they were warm. However, thanks to a warming charm hey all sat comfortably warm in only a few layers.

The six of them had arrived early as to get their own eating. Peter, Graham, Blaise and Theodore were stood at the very front, with Harry, Neville, Susan and Hannah stood behind them. The group of eight all stood with baited breath as they watched the two Quidditch teams fly around the pitch trying desperately to score as many points.

Things had not been going very well for the Slytherin's, they were currently losing one hundred and fifty points to seventy. Not only that, but Draco had been doing terribly. The muggleborn student, Dean Thomas had been flying rings around the Malfoy heir.

"And Dean and Draco dive towards the ground!" Lee Jordan exclaimed excitedly as he commentated the game. "The two second years are neck and neck!" The dive amounted to nothing. It had been a fake, Harry had noticed the snitch been on the completely opposite side of the arena to where they were flying. Dean had obviously been hoping to get rid of Draco, only for the Malfoy to show some measure of skill and escape by the skin of his teeth.

Draco barrel rolled out of the way to avoid a bludger. The bludger instantly changed directions without the aid of a Beater. Draco had already made a getaway, but the bludger was not focused on him, but instead shot forwards towards the area in which Harry and his friends were sat.

Due to the surprise of this movement, Harry barely had time to react and so pushed Susan who was beside him to one side will jumping into Neville knocking them both out of the way.

Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham all ducked as the bludger slammed into the area in which Harry once stood. Those around them screeched in shock, and were silenced when they watched the bludger raise up into the air and shot towards Harry once more.

This time Harry was more prepared and rolled out of the way and the process repeated. However, after the third time harry raised his hand and pushed his magic outwards. The bludger was stuck in the air for a few moments. It looked to be struggling against some unseen force before it was launched backwards.

 _"_ _Reducto!"_ Harry shouted and the Reductor curse shout out and reduced the bludger to ash when it shot towards him once more.

There was a cheer from the crowd followed by a shout from Lee Jordan.

"AND DEAN THOMAS HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" The Gryffindor's and members from the other houses, except Slytherin cheered loudly at the result. Meanwhile the Slytherin's were all disappointed except for Harry and his group. All of which knew that this day had its mix of ups and downs. Mostly ups.

Daphne looked indifferently in the direction of Harry. She would admit to been slightly concerned for him when the bludger had nearly killed or at least severely injured him. She hated those feelings as they were a weakness, thankfully they only sprouted from the fact that she owed him a great deal and not due to any misguided feelings. Definitely not, she had no crush on Hadrian James Potter. Absolutely not, crushes were childish and she was anything but; childish.

She could clearly see the confusion over what had happened, but she could also see the accomplishment. Daphne herself was confused on why he felt accomplishment over Slytherin's defeat, but she knew that whatever the reason would greatly benefit him and by extension; her.

"Looks like you might have some competition for Potter's heart." Tracey piped in. Daphne glared at her with slightly flushed cheeks. Ever since Harry's announcement in the common room, Tracey had been teasing her relentlessly. Even Flora and Hestia had begun to join in, thankfully Millicent had not joined in, but she had been enjoying the sight of the Ice Queen been uncomfortable.

Despite this, she turned towards Harry to see him helping a blushing Susan to her feet. He smiled and said something to her that made her blush deepen and case a shy smile to appear on her face.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance before talking to Tracey and the others.

Meanwhile, Harry turned to the boys and nodded his head with a smirk on his face. Things were going exactly as planned.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Students gathered around in the Great Hall, each whispering excitedly with one another as they speculated on who would teach them the art of duelling. While his friends conversed behind him, Harry studied the Great Hall and the students inside.

The tables had disappeared and now there was a singular long platform in the centre of the room. It was styled exactly like an actual duelling platform meaning that they were taking this seriously.

The students themselves seemed to be a mix of nervous and excited. Nervous due to not knowing what to expect from their teacher, but also because they were nervous about their ability. It was obvious however, that they were excited because duelling was an exciting event to watch. Many shared glances with him Daphne and Sue Li, but none said anything.

Harry found it incredibly amusing and then turned to Blaise when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"We've been speculating on who will be our teacher, but we can't seem to come up with a decision." Harry raised his brow in questioning. "Who do you think will be teaching?"

"Professor Flitwick would be the most suitable Professor for this positon due to his past history as a duellist." Harry explained his reasoning.

"I told you!" Peter exclaimed with Theodore nodded his head in agreement.

"I just hope it's not Snape." Neville said. Despite his confidence, Neville was still slightly scared of the greasy haired Potions Professor.

"Or Lockhart." Susan piped in much to the agreement of the others, even Hannah was nodding her head. Despite still believing he was a great wizard, she had begun to become disheartened by the man's obvious inability to teach magic. Her excuses for the man were beginning to become repetitive, even she was realising that the man's stories may not be completely factual.

"Welcome everyone." Speak of the devil and he shall appear, for the voice belonged to none other than Gilderoy Lockhart himself. He strutted towards them with confidence been exuded with every step he took. Beside him walked Professor Snape who seemed displeased by being near the fool. Another difference besides their enthusiasm was the fact that Snape exuded power and arrogance, while Lockhart exuded only arrogance. A difference clearly seen by those with the eye for the small details.

"Shit." Theodore's simple word summed up the thoughts of their entire group.

"I will be your new Duelling Professor, and you can rest assure that you are in safe hands." Blaise, Peter, Graham, Neville and Susan groaned when they heard this. "With my assistant, Professor Snape we will turn you all into great duellists." Harry tuned him out for a few moments before listening him to describe what he had planned for the day.

Mostly it was just duelling etiquette and there would be a few duels to learn the skill level of each of the students.

"Now then." It seems Gilderoy wasn't finished just yet. "Me and my assistant shall demonstrate a duel for you and show you exactly what we expect from you with proper training which I, of course shall prepare for you." He flashed a dazzling smile that caused many girls to swoon at how 'handsome' he was.

The two Professors went to the centre of the duelling platform with their wands brandished and at the ready.

"Now both duellists must always bow." They did so, Professor Snape's bow shouldn't really count as a bow, more like inkling his head. Even then he barely did that. "And on the count of three." They took three long strides marked by him saying, "One. Two. Three. _Expelliarmus!"_ On the fourth and final step they spun round, while Gilderoy fired a disarming charm shot forwards from Gilderoy's wand.

One thing Harry and his friends noticed was how sloppy the spell work was. To a normal child of their age it would seem quite fast, but to them – people who had trained with the likes of Harry- it was quite slow.

As a testament to how slow it was, Snape had time to sneer and lazily cast a simple shielding charm which absorbed the spell. Snape then retaliated with a non-verbal disarming charm that struck Gilderoy's hastily raised shield. Even then the charm shattered the shield and struck Gilderoy in the chest launching him right to the edge of the duelling platform.

While he didn't like Snape overly much, he had to admire the man's skill. His power was great, more so than even his and with much greater control. Harry had no doubt that if he fought the Professor, he wouldn't last even a minute unless he played with him. Otherwise it would be a steamroll victory for Professor Snape.

Gilderoy laughed happily and stood to his feet. Despite been embarrassed at his humiliating and quick defeat at the hands of his 'assistant,' he put on a fake front of happiness for his fans.

"Excellent, absolutely excellent." He gave a cheery laugh used by all those that were trying to hide their embarrassment. "Now then, why don't we have two volunteers? How about, Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom?" The two boys shared a glance and shrugged their shoulders. With that the two of them walked towards the platform only to be stopped by Professor Snape.

"I wouldn't do that, Longbottom is more likely to damage himself more than anyone else. Perhaps, Weasley would prove a better challenge." Gilderoy seemed to contemplate this for a few moments before nodding his head in agreement.

"Very well then. Mr Potter, Mr Weasley please come up to the platform." The two young wizards in question did so with many people buzzing and whispering with excitement. While still wary of Harry and what he supposedly did to Mrs Norris, they could not deny the excitement of seeing a world champion in action.

Draco couldn't keep the grin off his face. Now was the time to get back at Potter for taking away not only his position as leader of Slytherin house, but also his position on the Quidditch team. Both were things he had taken pride. One was already his and the other was just outside of his grasp. Now they were ripped away from him.

After having convinced Snape to make sure that Weasley would go up against Harry, now he could finish the first part of his revenge. Humiliate Harry in front of the school. After all he was a half blood and despite been a blood traitor, Weasley was still a Pureblood and should easily defeat him.

"Now stand back to back." Harry and Ron did as they were told before taking three steps forward. On the fourth Weasley spun round and fired out three very simple spells.

 _"_ _Rictusempra! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!"_ Harry unlike Ron, rolled forwards avoiding the tickling charm, before spinning round into a crouch positon and parrying the next two spells to the ground. Both splattered harmlessly against the ground.

Ron gasped in shock before growling in anger when Harry rose to his feet slowly and twirled his wand in his hand. Smirking, Harry gripped his wand before firing a weak knockback jinx, followed by disarming charm.

The first spell struck the pale misty shield raised by Ron. Despite been weak, the power behind it nearly shattered the shield and forced Ron backwards. Then the disarming charm copied the similar action of Snape and Gilderoy's duel. It shattered the shield and sent Ron flying backwards.

For a few moments no one moved as they watched Ron lay there before they saw him shakily get to his feet. His wand shakily pointed at him.

Raising his eyebrow in amusement, Harry relaxed his body and gave an easy going smile. One that made more than a few girls blush.

 _"_ _Serpensortia!"_ A snake shot from his wand and suddenly, he felt an unseen sensation in his mind. A desire to speak to it. Not even in Balthazar's presence did he feel such a need to speak. Harry shook his head to try and get rid of the voice whispering in his ear, but it was slowly chipping away at his resolve.

The snake paid no heed to Harry and instead slithered towards a group of Slytherin's. More specifically the Hufflepuff at the front that goes by the name of Justin Finch-Fletchley.

The others watched Harry shake his head, his mind obviously absent. They instantly knew something was happening, but they didn't know what. They looked towards Ron, the snake, Justin, Snape, Gilderoy and even Draco, but all looked confused.

They watched as the snake raised into the air in preparation to strike, but a hissing noise stopped him. Everyone in the room followed the snake with their eyes as it turned around to face Harry.

 _§I said stop. §_ Harry commanded much to shock and fright of the students. Before the conversation could continue, Snape destroyed the snake and gave Harry a look of both surprise and a little bit of fear. It was then the voice disappeared and Harry realised what he had done.

 _'_ _Something or someone did this.'_ Harry clenched his fists tightly and he had to restrain his magic to stop it from lashing out in accordance to his anger. Walking off the platform, the entirety of the Second Years gave him a wide birth.

His friends watched him leave before all followed after him leaving the gossiping students behind.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Dumbledore sighed and removed his wand from a whole in the wall. He had been surprised by the amount of magic he had been used to put into the spell just to make Harry reveal his Parseltongue ability to the world. It showed just how great a willpower Harry had.

The spell he used was a very powerful version of the Confundus in the way it confuses the enemy into believing they have come up with an idea, when it has instead been given to them by the caster. It had a second property as well. It tore away at the users will and altered the way they viewed certain people. However, the Potter heir had thrown off the spell before he could implement the second phase of it.

While disappointing, it was not disastrous and he had plenty of plans in case for such an outcome.

All of his plans had different outcomes, but all had different routes that took them to the final destination, which was his Utopic world. However, all the plans had some common aspects and one such aspect was the world knowing Harry's abilities and like he knew they would, they would question Harry's future.

The course he took next depended entirely on the results that would follow.

 **A/N: It's a shorter chapter than usual, but everything that needs to be done has been done, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. If you did please leave a review.**


	9. Battle in The Chamber of Secrets

**The Master of Death**

 **Chapter 8: Battle in The Chamber of Secrets.**

 **Summary:** _In the previous chapter, Harry announced that Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, Tracey Davis, the Carrow Twins and Millicent Bulstrode were under the protection of House Potter. He then assigned missions for Blaise, Theodore, Peter and Graham to do while he began thinking of what he could do as his plans progressed._

 _In DADA, he embarrassed Professor Lockhart through the use of wandless and non-verbal magic, causing the mirror he was looking into to explode. But after a few months, Harry hears something in the walls of Hogwarts speaking Parseltongue. Each time it proclaimed the desire to kill something. They follow the voice to find a message written on the wall and Mrs Norris petrified. Dumbledore, in act of manipulation, implies that he believes that Harry is the culprit._

 _When Harry confronts him on this, Dumbledore plays innocent and acts like nothing happened._

 _The next day, Draco recruits Ron in his plan to humiliate Harry in the duelling club. But three weeks later Harry and his friends corner Draco and create a deal. If he loses the Quidditch match he loses his position as leader and his position on the team, if he wins, Harry loses his position as leader and creates an alliance with House Malfoy._

 _In the Quidditch match Harry and his friends are assaulted by a bludger that is dead set on killing him. Harry manages to destroy it, while Slytherin lose the match, much to the joy of Harry and those that knew about the deal._

 _When the Duelling club finally opened, it was revealed that Gilderoy Lockhart and Severus Snape were the teachers and after a disastrous and one-sided duel, Snape wins. Then Harry and Ron duel, in which Harry easily wins, but for some reason feels the need use Parseltongue to destroy the snake Ron summoned._

 _It was later revealed that Dumbledore was the culprit of such desire._

 **A/N: I'd like to thank Lyz135, Omni-Creator Kami of Anime, Guest, Magnuss, hellfire45, Charles Ceaser, Minase 2928, Duellist, jrayeni, jc and Guest for your reviews. I'd also like to thank JadeKitty for beta-reading this chapter and all my other chapters; if you go back you should notice that the grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. has greatly improved.**

 **Magnuss:** **No, Peter isn't a representation of Pettigrew, he is an actual character that we see in Prisoner of Azkaban. As for the power play, you're right that Draco is all talk, but they fear what Lucius will do if they didn't vote for him. That's how Draco is still a competitor.**

 **Guest:** **In the films Dumbledore was remorseful for his actions however, there is a reason why he is acting the way he is in my story. One I doubt you will realise straight away until later on, around the time of the Sixth year. Hopefully you will stay around until that time.**

"Normal speech."

 _'Normal thought.'_

 _"Spells."_

 _§Parseltongue§_

Mysterious Figure Speech.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

The following weeks had been tense, to say the least. Frightened students of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had rallied behind Gryffindor House as they tried their hardest to alienate and sometimes attack Harry. It hadn't worked as Slytherin House had rallied behind Harry; his use of Parseltongue making him the new Ruler of Slytherin House.

A simple act of displaying an ancient ability had elevated him to new heights of power.

Though it had come with a few downsides. He had been constantly followed by five or more Sixth Years. It had made getting alone with his friends difficult, but he had managed to do it.

Like always though, Draco had been a thorn in his side and constantly tried to undermine his rule. However, the rest of Slytherin seemed to realise who they should really fear. The Malfoy's, in total, had only two votes, though they could get around twenty-one other votes as a result of their allies and those that feared them or bribed by them. House Potter however, already had ten votes available to them, plus an additional twenty-eight votes from his alliances with the Longbottom's, the Zabini's, the Nott's, the Montague's, the Pike's, the Bones' and the Abbott's.

Overall, when Harry came of age he would be one of the main dominating forces in the political arena.

Then there was the fact that Harry was also much more powerful and skilled in magic than most Third Years and a few Fourth Years, with a much more impressive track record. The fear they once felt for Draco was outweighed by their fear of Harry. Harry's rule was indisputable, and no one dared question his authority.

The teachers were also getting tense at the situation. It got to the point where Dumbledore was even threatening to expel students if they continued to act in such a way. Harry however, wasn't convinced by the man's act. Dumbledore was up to something and Harry was generally terrified of what the results of said plan would mean for him and those that he cared for.

Currently, Harry and his friends were sat at quite a large table in the far corner of the library. It was perfect for them as they were practically surrounded by bookcases with only a single gap acting as an entrance and exit. This meant that if anyone was fool enough to try and attack Harry in the library their advantage in numbers and surprise would become obsolete. This was made even more so by the two groups of three Sixth Year Slytherin's sat on two tables just outside of the entrance/exit. Anyone that tried to get in would have to get through them first.

Not that Harry would let them face the Gryffindor's, Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's alone if such an attack came. It was one of the reasons why his rule was now undisputed in Slytherin House. He didn't hide behind anyone. Harry faced those that were foolish to attack him head on, even assisting his fellow Slytherin's no matter what year they were in if they were attacked. Every other Slytherin Ruler before him had hidden behind his followers and never got his hands dirty. Harry did the opposite.

That didn't mean Harry was completely respected and loved in his House. Overall, around a quarter did not follow him out of respect or love, but out of fear. Harry had showcased a ruthless streak to go along with his kind side.

Anyone that threatened his friends or his fellow Slytherin's were found in humiliating positions around the school and would then be taken to the Medical Wing with numerous dislocations and broken limbs.

In the short amount of time in which he had become Ruler of Slytherin, Harry had consolidated his rule and gained the love and respect of most of his house. Those that feared him kept their heads down, unwilling to incur the wrath of the monster that was Harry Potter.

"What you thinking of?" Blaise asked as he looked up from his book on Advanced Charms. Harry tore his eyes away from the Potter Family Grimoire and looked at Blaise.

"My book." That was all Harry said before he went back to reading his book.

"You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Blaise pressed, and the others looked up from their respective self-assigned tasks. "You haven't turned a single page ever since you opened the book and you've been sat there staring off into space for a good hour."

"What makes you think I'm not practising my Occlumency?" That reminded Harry, he should probably do another check of his defences and see how the others are doing on their own. This gave him the added benefit of practising Legilimency.

"Because when you practise Occlumency you go completely still. You were anything but still." It was Theodore that answered, and Neville nodded his head. Sighing, Harry closed his book and faced them all. Blaise was directly across from him with Peter and Graham on either side of him. Meanwhile, on Harry's left-hand side was Neville and on his right was Susan. Then in the centre of the table was Theodore and Hannah, with Hannah next to Susan and Theodore next to Neville.

"I've been thinking…" He glared at Peter when he heard him mumble, "No shit." Upon seeing this, Peter whistled innocently gaining a few laughs. "I've been thinking about what happened with Mrs Norris and the message." Instantly the group leaned in to hear what he had to say.

"So, what have you come up with?" Neville inquired.

"Well, I did my research on the Chamber of Secrets and found out that it opened fifty years ago but was closed after a student was killed. No sign of death, it was as if she was alive one minute –

\- And dead the next." Graham finished. Harry nodded his head as Hannah and Susan shared a terrified glance.

"One student, Tom Marvolo Riddle, found the beast and was given an award for shutting the Chamber of Secrets." There was silence around the table as they all digested the information. "Now, I did my research and I can't find the mention of any Magical Creature that makes a perfectly healthy student just drop dead. So, I've sent Hedwig to collect a list of potential suspects from Ripclaw."

"Was that all you've been thinking of?" Susan flushed when Harry's gaze turned to her. While it wasn't as pronounced as it had been when the year started, it took just a single look from Harry to make her embarrassed.

"No. I've been thinking of what I'll be doing this summer." His tone voice made it clear he didn't want to speak any further. His patience for the little things had been growing thin as of late. With the increased workload given by teachers, constantly trying and sometimes failing to avoid confrontations with the other Houses, being Ruler of Slytherin, training to improve his skills along with teaching them, had made him stressed out. That and the fact they all knew that Dumbledore's constant way of making Harry the bad guy to the rest of school, even though it was blatantly obvious that he was the real victim, was getting to him.

They would admit to being scared of when he would finally snap. Not for themselves as they knew Harry valued friendship and loyalty above everything. To attack those people, he viewed as his friends and those loyal to him would go against everything he stood for.

They were scared for those that finally snapped the leash that was holding Harry's monster at bay.

"I'm sorry." He apologised to them all. "I haven't been the easiest of people to hang around with recently."

"It's fine." Peter and Graham said. It was quite frightening at how in sync they were with one another. Then again, they had been friends ever since they were young.

"Yea, no need to worry, Harry." Hannah waved him off and Susan gave him a reassuring smile.

"You've had a lot to deal with." Blaise stated firmly, making sure that Harry couldn't blame himself anymore. It was habit they realised was one of the flaws he had. When he made a mistake, he tended to blame himself too much.

"If you keep acting like an emo next year that's when we'll have a problem." Harry and few others shared a laugh at Neville's threat. Then he turned to the final member of their group. Theodore said nothing, but simply gave him a firm nod and Harry instantly got the message.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go to bed." After saying his goodbyes, Harry got up and left, one group of the Slytherin's following after him, while the other stayed behind to protect his friends.

That had been another thing that the Slytherin's had made sure of. Theodore, Blaise, Neville, Peter and Graham represented the digits of his right-hand man, or men in this case. They were all equal in his eyes, but if he had to choose one of them to be his right-hand man, it would be Theodore. Not because he was the most powerful, the most skilled or anything like that. No, it was because Theodore was a true Slytherin that also understood the importance of loyalty.

He had the mind to think of elaborate political schemes that shocked even him. He researched his opposition extensively, to the point it was borderline obsession and would wait for just the right moments before revealing every last secret and exploit every weakness you have.

It was the same with his duelling style. He was a tactical duellist. A duellist that was always on defence and then, after figuring out your weaknesses would go on the offensive and overwhelmed their opponent. However, as Theodore had found out the hard way, if his offensive manoeuvre didn't succeed then it put him in a precarious position that could result in his defeat. In fact, if his offence failed there was seventy-five percent chance that he would lose. That percentage was in the nineties when he was facing Harry.

"Well, well, well." Groaning, Harry turned around to see Ron Weasley stood there flanked by Dean and Seamus. Though neither looked happy to be there as they warily glanced from him to the Slytherin's and back again. "If it isn't the Dark Lord himself." Ron spat. In retaliation to the insulting tone used, the Slytherin Sixth Years presented their wands, but didn't point it at them. This made it so that they couldn't be blamed for starting the one sided massacre that could very well happen.

"Ronald." Harry pronounced his full name with all the Pureblood arrogance he could muster. He got the desired reaction he wanted as Ron flushed an ugly shade of purple as the hand that was gripping his wand shook. "Must we do this constantly? I'm beginning to worry about you, you're practically obsessing over me." Harry gasped in faux shock. "Could it be that you have feelings for me? Is that it?" Seamus and Dean coughed into their hands trying to quell their laughter, while the Slytherin's smirked. "Well, I have to tell you that I just don't see you that way. I know it's hard to understand, but I'm just not the right guy for you. I'm sure he's out there somewhere, waiting for you." That was the final straw as Seamus and Dean burst out laughing and the Slytherin's chuckled.

"Potter." Ron growled.

"That is my name, yes? Is there something you wanted?" Harry flashed an arrogant smirk that made Ron's already impressive shade of purple grow deeper in colour. However, he became deadly serious when Ron pointed his wand at him. Something in Harry clicked and with it everything went still in his mind. He could feel everything, and he found himself once again back in the cupboard under the stairs at his relative's house.

The Slytherin's tensed but did nothing as Harry raised one hand to stop them. Seamus and Dean on the other hand slowly began inching away. Neither wanted to be privy to Harry's wrath. They were terrified of him and in their opinion, he was an alright guy, just a little distant.

"Now think very carefully about what you're doing, Weasel." Ron's wand arm trembled, but his shade of purple never left his face and Harry found the image of Ron being replaced with his uncle; in his hand was a pan that he was pointing at him threateningly.

 _"Petrificus…"_ He was unable to finish the incantation as Harry shot forwards and knocked Ron's aim off course. Afterwards he buried his fist in the Weasley's stomach causing him to hunch over and spittle to come flying out of his mouth.

Stepping backwards, Harry watched impassively as Ron collapsed to his knees dry heaving. "You think, after all the years I suffered underneath you, that I would let you beat me once more!" Harry took a single step and then kicked Ron in the face. There was a sickening crack as something broke and then Ron collapsed screaming while holding his nose, blood spilling out from between his fingers. "I spent years of my life suffering abuse," another kick, this time to Ron's stomach followed by another crack. "I will not suffer," another kick, another crack, another scream. "Anymore!" Then Harry released kick after kick on the downed Ron.

Seamus and Dean watched as Harry beat Ron black and blue, their eyes wide as they could do nothing but watch in fear that he might do something to them. The Slytherin's meanwhile, shared a glance with one another. Each conveying a single thought.

Harry had finally snapped, and now the monster was unleashed, and he was here to get revenge.

"My own family! Beat me! Starved me! Treated me like a slave!" Each sentence was followed by a strike that broke something else. Blood was splattered along the walls and the floor. But that wasn't the terrifying part.

No.

It was Harry himself. His school clothes were splattered in Ron's blood, his mouth pulled back into a snarl and his eyes glowing so bright that they feared he would release a Killing Curse with pure eyesight alone. Gone was the cunning, ambitious, loyal, kind, intelligent, brave and friendly boy that ruled Slytherin House. In his place was a beast with the sole desire to release the pain he suffered as a child onto others.

Ron happened to be on the receiving end of it all. Every punch, every kick contained years of bottled up sadness, pain, anguish and rage.

"Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall's voice froze those in the corridor. It seemed however, that it snapped Harry from his stupor as he blinked slowly. He looked at his hands, they were covered in blood. He looked at his clothes, they were covered in blood. Then he looked at Ron, he was practically unrecognisable. His face was covered in bruises, his jaw completely out of place much like most of his other bones. Yet, Harry couldn't find it within him to care.

There was a voice in his mind telling him that Ron deserved it and the more he listened to it, the more he agreed with the voice. It was Ron who started this whole thing. It was Ron who attacked first. He simply put down a threat and made sure that he stayed down. There was nothing wrong with that, was there?

"What have you done?! Explain yourself?!" As Professor McGonagall stared at the form of the child of James and Lily Potter, she would forever deny that she was terrified. He looked eerily calm, his eyes still, but they lacked regret or remorse as he stood over the broken body of Ronald Weasley. His body was covered in blood and yet he stood completely still as if it didn't bother him.

"Me?" He tilted his head to the side. "He attacked me first Professor, I simply acted in self-defence."

"Self-defence is not defined as you nearly killing those that attack you, Mr Potter." Her voice was sharp and cold as she tried to intimidate the boy who intimidated her. Harry looked down at Ron once more, he looked as if he was truly seeing what he had done to Ron and Professor McGonagall hoped he would realise the error of his ways.

He did not.

"I was being incredibly…thorough." Once again, his voice was eerily calm and the way he said the last word made a shiver of fear run up her spine. Yet, she couldn't find it within herself to blame Harry.

Out of everyone he was the true victim here. Something happened before she arrived that triggered the reaction of this magnitude. She cursed Dumbledore for placing the child of James and Lily with those 'creatures', because the abuse he suffered created something that may be even worse than Voldemort himself.

"That will be a hundred points from Slytherin and you have detention with me until the Yule Holiday." It was the only punishment she could give him for nearly killing someone in self-defence. Legally he wasn't in the wrong as he had protected himself – as he put it – thoroughly. Not only that, but there were witnesses and from what she could tell, they would tell the truth out of fear.

"Of course, Professor." He bowed. "May I return to my dorm, it is getting late?" Professor McGonagall nodded her head and Harry strode past her. The Slytherin Sixth Years following after him, smug looks on their faces, no doubt because the Blood-Traitor was shown his place.

 _'Dumbledore was wrong in placing him with those Muggles.'_ She thought as Minerva levitated the unconscious Ron. _'They turned him into the very thing that we tried to avoid.'_ It was saddening as she remembered what he used to be like. Innocent and pure. Now, she didn't know what he was.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry gasped as he shot upright and looked around. In the background was an erupting volcano, smoke and ash billowing out from the top, magma spilling out from the top and oozing out across the landscape.

"You're finally awake." An educated and cultured voice made Harry spin around in shock. There stood a figure of around 6''5', covered from head to toe in a black cloak, the bottom trailing across the ground and much like with Bear, its face was shrouded in shadows.

Harry took a few cautious steps backwards but stopped when he felt a wave of blistering heat hit his back. Turning around he found himself standing at the edge of a cliff, and down at the bottom was a large river of molten lava. His eyes trailed over the distance and saw the occasional patch of land that was untouched, but they were very rare.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Harry's head snapped to the left as he found the mysterious figure stood beside him. Its shadowed face staring out over across the landscape, or what remained of it. "The mind is truly the most marvellous thing about humans. It is their most dangerous weapon, though to most it sits collecting rust like a blade. If they cultivated it, trained it, sharpened it, then they would be capable of so much greatness, so much destruction, so much power." The figure's tone was envious.

"W-who are you?" Harry felt himself freeze in shock as the figure's eyes looked onto his own. Well, that's what he assumed was happening, as he really couldn't tell.

"You do not know?" It tilted its head to the side in confusion. "How interesting." It turned back to face the burning landscape.

"You haven't answered my question." Harry said abruptly.

The figure continued to stare out across the land. "No, I didn't. Why should I tell you who I am? You have great intelligence, use that intelligence to figure out who I am." The figure ordered. "I will tell you one thing." Harry raised an eyebrow in question, though he doubted the figure could see it. "I am, but part of a whole. Forever locked in combat to stop the very thing you humans cherish, yet do not use to its full potential from being lost. Do you know of what I speak?"

"The mind." The figure nodded its head. "That still doesn't help me at all. In fact, it only fills my head with even more questions." His statement drew a laugh from the figure. It was a strange sound, like it lacked the very thing it needed to be counted as a proper laugh.

"I suppose it does, doesn't it?"

"Your habit of answering my questions with questions of your own is starting to piss me off." Harry growled. This time the figure's laugh was real. Insane would be the word to describe the figure's laugh. Like it had lost everything and had been swallowed by darkness, drowning itself in the darkness of this world. That wasn't what terrified Harry. No, what terrified him was the sickly yellow eyes that glowed ominously from underneath its hood as it turned to face him. The bloodlust that shined within them terrified Harry more than anything.

"And what will you do to stop me from continuing such a habit, hmm?" Harry took a fearful step back as it took one step forwards.

"I…I…I…" He hated how weak his voice sounded as he stared up at the figure before him. Harry couldn't sense any magic in the figure at all, nor could he see anything. Whatever the cloak was made of was blocking him from seeing the figure's magical core.

"Oh, seems you have lost all you nerve." The figure taunted. "What happened to the young child who constantly provoked his Uncle and cousin to beat him within an inch of his life? What happened to the boy who threatened the Flamel's? Where is the boy that fought and killed a Troll? Or has that boy gone, replaced with the weak coward who let his relatives walk all over? How disappointing." While he couldn't see the figure's sneer, he could feel it and it drove him mad with anger.

"You…you dare!" He growled while clenching his fists tightly. His magic swirled around him dangerously as the yellow eyes of the figure glowed even brighter in anticipation.

"Oh, I dare, but you won't do anything about it, will you?" The figure pushed. "You've become weak, powerless and pathetic. No better than a House Elf." Then it spun round and began walking away from the seething Harry. "James and Lily would never be able to love such a weak and pathetic child like you."

That was the final straw for Harry as he released an animalistic roar before thrusting both arms forward and from them, a powerful blast of magic shot forwards and slammed into the back of the figure. So powerful was the blast that a large trench was left in its wake as the figure was flung all the way into the far distance, only stopping due to it colliding with the volcano.

Harry panted heavily as he dropped his limp arms and collapsed to his knees. "Very good." Shock coursed through him once more as he saw the figure stood behind him.

"H-how?"

"This is my mind, my dimension. Here, I am God and anything I want becomes reality." The figure stalked forwards. "Do you want to know something about me, Hadrian James Potter?" It didn't wait for a reply and continued on. "I am the polar opposite of you. While you can project your magic externally, I can't. I can only project it internally." The figure chuckled madly. "Though there is one good thing to come from that; all my physical aspects are greatly enhanced to the point it shouldn't be possible.

Harry groaned as he pushed himself to his feet and then lashed out with a punch, only for it to hit nothing but air. "I'm faster." Then a fist collided with his back and Harry gasped in pain as he was flung forwards. "Stronger." Just before he flew off the edge, a hand gripped his face and slammed him back-first into the ground. "And better than you in every way."

"B-bastard!" Harry spat out, only for a foot to be placed against his Adam's apple, then it slowly applied pressure till it cut off his airway.

"Now, now. We can't have you using such language." It waggled its finger in a scolding manner. "It seems our time is being cut short." The figure sighed as the area slowly began dripping to the ground like ink. "We will meet again, Hadrian. Hopefully by that point, you will know who I am."

Then darkness claimed Harry.

With a gasp, Harry shot into an upright position and looked around. Only, instead of the apocalyptic world he was once in, now he was back in his dorm room. In his bed to be precise. Then he looked down to see a hand slowly moving away from him. His green eyes followed the arm and saw him looking up at Theodore.

"You alright?" Theodore asked, and Harry nodded his head as he pushed himself out of his bed. With a wave of his hand, his clothes came out of his trunks and placed themselves onto his respective body parts. "What happened last night? The Sixth Years that followed you said that you just went completely mental and nearly killed Weasley."

"I did?" He closed his eyes and held his head in confusion as he tried to remember what happened last night.

"Yep. Said that you were shouting about how you refused to be beaten once more and treated as a slave. Stuff like that." Then Harry remembered everything as he gripped his head tighter.

"My aunt and uncle didn't exactly like magic. They used to beat me whenever I used magic in the hope of beating the 'freakishness' out of me." The anger in his tone as he said 'freakishness' made Theodore flinch. "When Weasley started getting angry he looked exactly like my uncle and well…

"You snapped." Theodore finished, and Harry nodded his head. The two walked out of the dorm and made their way down towards the Common Room. As soon as they did the reaction was so sudden that the two were shocked. Those that were still in the room froze and turned to face Harry with fear in their eyes. When Harry took a step forwards they all tried to hide their flinch, but it was plainly obvious.

Seeing this, Harry regarded them all, his emerald green eyes panning over the room as the Slytherin's tried their best to seem as small as possible. Shrugging his shoulders, Harry walked out of the Common Room, followed closely by Theodore.

"I had no idea the reaction would be that bad." Harry's voice was filled with wonder. Theodore copied his earlier action and shrugged his shoulder.

"I don't know either. I heard some of the whispers and stuff, but I didn't realise that they would react like that when you turned up." Humming, Harry and Theodore entered the Great Hall, and both ignored the way the students quietened and watched his every move. As soon as he sat down they all began whispering, but in Harry's opinion they might have well as been shouting as he heard all of them loud and clear.

"I heard he killed someone." (A/N: Just to let you all know, Ron is not dead and is very much alive)

"Look at him. He's not even bothered by what he did."

"What'd you expect, he's a Dark Wizard?" This was but a single conversation out of the many he could hear. Harry ignored them and looked at Blaise, Peter and Graham. None of them seemed bothered by what he had done, something he was grateful for. If they had begun to hate and fear him he would become disheartened. They had been the four people who had been with him since near enough the beginning of his journey in Hogwarts. To lose them would have been a deep blow to him mentally.

"You don't care, do you?" Harry asked curiously towards the four of them.

"A little, but I understand why you did it." Theodore answered. "Your muggle relatives abused you and Weasley reminded you of him, so you lashed out." The last part was mainly said for Blaise, Peter and Graham's benefit. However, it did make those that had been eavesdropping whisper even more. Pretty soon it had spread across the entire Great Hall.

"So that's why you did it." Graham voice was but a whisper. Peter meanwhile was about to give Harry a pitying gaze, but he knew from Harry's personality that he would be angered by it.

"That sucks man." Blaise groaned as he realised how little he knew of his friend's past life before Hogwarts. "Well, I can guarantee you this, you ain't getting rid of us that easily." The others nodded in agreement and Harry gave a small smile. Then the group of five began eating until their stomachs were full.

However, throughout the meal Harry could feel multiple gazes on him and it angered him. Thankfully, the Slytherin's had gotten over what had happened or at least were hiding it and were now treating him like they used to do. Every other student on the other hand, was staring at him like he was about to turn and attack them.

"If they keep on staring at me like that then I think I might just turn around and do exactly what they think I might do." Harry spoke loud enough for those nearby to listen and their reactions must have been pretty funny as Blaise, Peter and Graham began laughing. Smirking, Harry stood up and indicated for the others to stay where they were before walking towards Professor Snape.

"Mr Potter. What can I do for you?" One thing Harry instantly noticed about the Potions Professor was the lack of hatred and annoyance in his eyes whenever he (Harry) was present. Now there was only curiousness and sadness. It confused him greatly on the sudden change, but he tried not to think too much on it.

"I would like to speak to you privately." Professor Snape nodded and got up from his seat and walked out of the Great Hall. Harry followed, but when he passed his friends he told them that they could, "go on ahead."

Entering Professor Snape's office, the man in question took a seat and with a motion of his hand indicated for Harry to do the same. "What required you to speak to me privately, Mr Potter?"

"Two things, Professor. First I was wondering if you could change the detentions I have assigned to me by Professor McGonagall to be done under yourself." Professor Snape mulled over the idea for a few moments before slowly nodding his head. Snape would admit to wanting to get to know Harry Potter himself now that he knew that the boy had suffered a similar childhood to himself.

"And the second?" Harry took a deep breath.

"I need you to perform Legilimency on me." Silence reigned as Snape's eyes stared in Harry's.

"Forgive me Mr Potter, but I think I must have misheard you. Did you just ask me to perform Legilimency on you?" Snape repeated Harry's question to make sure that he had heard correctly.

"Yes." Harry confirmed. "Last night, I believe I had a dream of meeting someone in a destroyed landscape. He was talking about the human mind and about how great it was." Harry took a deep breath and his face adopted a look of confusion. "It felt so real, like it was a memory and not a dream. And ever since I have learnt Occlumency I haven't had a dream, so I'm really confused."

Once again there was silence as Snape tried to wrap his head around what Harry had said. _'That should be impossible. Occlumency stops people from having dreams as a result of their minds being so organised. So, through the process of elimination that means that Harry had a memory.'_ Snape studied Harry's facial features with more scrutiny. _'He genuinely looks confused, as if he never remembers that happening at any point in his life.'_

"Professor?" Harry inquired as to why the Potions Professor was being so quiet, however, the man simply gave a wave of his hand indicating he wanted silence.

 _'It can't be a dream and it's impossible for anyone except incredibly skilled users of the Mind Arts to lock the memories of other Mind Art users away.'_ With that line of thought he turned to Harry. "Have you ever come across anyone matching the description at all in a similar land such as that ever?"

"No." Humming in thought. Snape allowed his magic to flow out and surround the room. Instantly his eyes locked onto Harry's magical core. More so the way in which it seemed to curve inwards allowing only a small slither of magic to enter. To anyone not knowledgeable on how to bound people's magical cores then they would just think that this is how Harry's core looks. To him however, he knew that Harry had his core bound and that it was weakening.

 _'Dumbledore, you old fool!'_ Snape raged internally. His mind instantly locked onto a single reasoning for what the figure was, and it made his rage grow. _'How could you do that to Lily's child, or any child for that matter?'_ For the first time in a long while he was beginning to question Dumbledore's morals and sanity.

"If that is what you wish, Mr Potter. Then I shall perform Legilimency." Harry nodded his head and Snape locked eyes with Harry once more. _"Legilimency."_

Instantly Snape found himself looking at a shelf with seven bottles on them. Each bottle was filled with black smoke and Snape instantly realised the purpose of this defence.

"Hello Professor." Snape turned to see Harry stood by a doorway that hadn't been there a few moments ago.

"Mr Potter, this is very good." He then indicated towards the bottles. "I'm guessing inside each of them is a fake world, except for one." Harry nodded his head and Snape found himself very impressed by the simplistic yet ingenious defence. Not even he had thought of such a defence and he planned to fix that. "I imagine that if anyone plans to enter your mind forcefully that they will have a bit of trouble guessing the correct one."

"Thank you, Professor. Now, if you would follow me, this will take us straight towards where I have the memory of the dream stored." Following Harry like he asked, Snape soon found himself looking at a dark, perfectly smooth ball made of an unknown material. "Just place your hand on it."

Doing so, Snape soon found himself stood watching as Harry and the figure spoke before engaging in a quick, one-sided fight. Once he was done watching, he pulled his hand away and stared at the ball before the two people were once again sat in his office.

"I'm not exactly sure on what that was. However, I will do my research on it. You can rest assured that I will let you know if I find anything." Nodding his head, Harry got up.

"Thank you, Professor." Then Harry turned and left.

Just as he reached the door, Snape stopped him. "Don't forget that you have detention with me tonight, Mr Potter." Bowing, Harry left leaving Snape alone in the office. Once he was sure Harry had left, Snape released his magic sending his desk flying to the other side of the room, before with a swish of his cloak he stalked towards the door. Just as he was about to leave he gave a flourish of his wand that fixed his room.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Sighing, Harry sat down on the floor of the Quidditch Pitch, beside him lay his Nimbus 2001. He had just finished try outs for the Seeker Position on the Quidditch Team. Adrian had wanted to give it to him anyway, mainly out of fear due to his actions. Harry refused the offer and declared that he wanted to earn his position through skill and no other reason.

This simple action had gone a long way in earning him the respect of the Slytherin's who knew of this.

"Well, I think we can all agree that Potter deserves the position." Miles Bletchley said in amused tone as the rest of the Quidditch team and those that tried out laughed in agreement.

"Yea, don't have to say that again." A random Fifth Year said as he gasped for breath. The strain of being Seeker being a lot more than he had expected.

"Where the hell did you learn to fly like that Potter?" One of the Beaters on the Slytherin team inquired. "I swear you nearly gave me a heart attack when you did the Wronski Feint."

"I don't know. It just felt natural to me." There were more than a few incredulous gazes directed at him.

"You're telling me, that you have never flown a broom before except for the flying lessons that you had in First Year. What the actual fuck!" Bletchley raised his hands into the air in exasperation. "I give up, kid's fucking mental and it's too much hassle trying to figure out what he can't do well." There were more than a few laughs at his declaration.

"Potter." Adrian coldly pronounced his last name. Turning around Harry looked at the Quidditch Captain, he hadn't been happy when Draco had withdrawn from the run for leadership and now the fact that Harry had greater power than him in Slytherin politics. "You're on the team, I expect you at training every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, understood?"

"Crystal." Adrian glared at him and stalked off in a poor attempt at copying Snape. Smirking, Harry got to his feet and got changed into his school outfit for the detention with Professor Snape.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Harry would be the first to admit that the following few months had been incredibly difficult. He would spend the morning training alongside his friends like usual and would then go to class. After that, Harry would spend his free time reading in the library, teaching his friends and finishing any homework he had. An hour before curfew would end, Harry would then go to Snape's office and learn from him under the disguise of it being detention.

One thing Harry had really noticed about the Potions Professor was that underneath the cold exterior he put on, that they shared quite a few similarities. Both had suffered abuse at the hands of their families, Snape at the hand of his father and Harry at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. As a result of this, both had the desire to grow strong so that they could never be abused once more.

Both also had problems trusting other people and found it difficult to find friends. Also, they shared the desire for companionship, a desire to have people stand beside you and help you no matter what.

The main similarity between the two is their inability to believe that magic should be restricted based simply on the opinions of others and the acts the magic had been used to do before. So, what if one wizard used Necromancy to resurrect an army of hundreds of thousands of dead souls to serve him? Before that, Necromancy had simply been seen as another branch of magic. If one person had such a control over the Levitation charm and used it to kill people, would the Magical World label it as Dark Magic?

Probably.

Harry and Snape both believed that magic was simply that; magic. There was no light and there was no dark. There was simply the intent behind which you use certain branches of magic. Everything can be used to kill someone and yet, only those mad enough to do so, do that. Just because one person does something wrong doesn't mean the other practitioners of that art are going to do the same.

Because of that, the two had bonded and formed a student/master relationship. Despite his inability to teach in lessons, Snape was in fact a good teacher. He was a literal treasure trove of knowledge on at least all magical arts with the basics of every branch memorised, the only thing that limited him was his lack of magical control to use some of the more powerful spells.

So, during those detentions and the ones that Harry constantly got throughout the year, he learned numerous things. He widened his horizon of knowledge on Charms, Transfiguration, Light Magic and even Dark Magic. Sometimes they would spend the full hour simply working on Harry's skills in the Mind Arts. The two switching between breaking through each other's defences or trying to Harry's case. Other times Snape would tell Harry about his mother, something which he would be eternally grateful for.

That didn't mean he trusted Snape fully. In fact, both were content to keep each other at arm's length, only ever revealing their secrets when it was absolutely necessary.

During the weekends, Harry would spend the time during the late morning training with the Slytherin Quidditch team in preparation for the final game of the year against Gryffindor. Both teams were set to face each other once more as they were tied for first place and the final match would decide the winner.

The Gryffindor's weren't very happy about this as Harry and the Slytherin's had shown a massive increase in skill and ability. That added with the very good ability to play just inside the rules and even outright cheating without been caught made them a very formidable team.

The Chaser's were by the far weakest on the Slytherin team. Individually they were good but there was just a wall that prevented them from working together. It was only through the use of Harry's skilful interventions that disrupted the oppositions Chasers and the Slytherin's Beaters that allowed them to score as many points as they had. The Beaters were much like the Chasers, individually good but with bare minimum teamwork. Thankfully their position didn't require much in the ways of teamwork. Their Keeper, Bletchley was very good and seemed to have the skill of almost knowing exactly where the enemy were going to throw, though his ability to stop the quaffle depended on if he managed to manoeuvre himself in time.

As the Seeker, Harry had cemented himself on the team due to his amazing skill on the broom. His keen eyesight allowed him to keep track of the entire Quidditch Pitch for any sign of the Snitch, while also being able to disrupt the oppositions Chasers.

Moving on, after training with the Quidditch team, Harry would then train with Professor Flitwick in preparation for the upcoming U16's Duelling Championship. Despite bribing his way into the tournament due to his young age, Harry was dead set on winning the Duelling tournament and then retiring from the Duelling circuit so as to spend more time travelling. One thing Harry had decided was to learn the things needed as to gain the teachings of the Flamel's students and then go to them individually.

This routine hadn't been Harry's full routine as Harry had to also spent anywhere from a few hours to a few days in the Hospital Wing as a result of either overworking or injuring himself. During one of his times Harry had been visited by Dobby once more and it had been revealed to him that the House Elf had been the reason for the rogue bludger that tried to kill him.

Despite being incredibly angry, Harry had restrained himself from killing the Elf as it seemed to be the only one that got near him. This allowed him to study the creature's core in more detail; more specifically the rune inscribed upon it.

To Harry it was incredibly complex and had a mixture of practically every known runic language in it. The rune design also seemed to have multiple runic languages he didn't recognise. The thought infuriated him as it meant returning the True Elves to the world could take a lot longer than he had hoped or planned for.

Thankfully, he had the forethought to write the runic design down and send a copy to Ripclaw and the Flamel's to see if they could help in deciphering it. Only Ripclaw had been made aware of its true purpose as he knew that Ripclaw not only respected him but was also beginning to trust him, and he in turn. Plus, a Goblin's silence could be ensured with money and the possibility of further business.

Then there had been the revealing of his less than savoury home life with his muggle relatives. He had received numerous offers for adoption from prominent families. Each he had declined in a polite fashion so as to not insult them and thankfully they had accepted this. Though a few had been quite insistent, but they too got the message that he wanted to be left alone.

Currently, Harry was walking along the path followed by Neville. The others were currently spending the time doing their own thing. Theodore, Blaise, Peter and Graham were with Daphne and her group.

Speaking of Daphne, he had begun noticing the way she was torn between smiling at him, blushing slightly whenever he returned said smile and glaring at him whenever he was with Susan. It had been incredibly amusing to watch as he had never thought the young Ice Queen of Slytherin would be jealous of Susan Bones over him.

As for Susan, she and Hannah were with the rest of Hufflepuff House, apparently, they were doing the near end of year House party that they did. He was confused by the whole thing as no other house did anything of the sort.

Neville had chosen not to go as he couldn't stand listening to the rest of the Second Year Hufflepuff's badmouthing Harry who was innocent. So now the two were walking down the corridors of Hogwarts, no destination in mind. They both came to a stop as they heard whispering coming from the corner.

Turning towards Neville, he raised one finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and Neville nodded his head in agreement. After this the two moved to the edge of the wall and looked around the corner to see that most of the staff were staring at the wall. They had obviously been there for a while as they could tell they were reaching the end of their conversation.

"This is your time to shine, Gilderoy." Snape drawled sarcastically and while he didn't know the nature of the conversation, he was already finding it hilarious. "You've been claiming since the beginning that you knew where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is, so we shall leave it in your hands."

"I…I…" Harry had to restrain his rising amusement at the dumfounded and terrified face of Lockhart.

"Very well then." Professor McGonagall said in her authoritative tone, a tone that left no room for argument. "Professor Lockhart, I hope that you can rescue the student currently in the Chamber of Secrets?!" A rhetorical question that was made even more clear by Professor McGonagall and the rest of the Professors leaving without waiting for him to answer.

"There's a student in the Chamber of Secrets?!" Neville whispered harshly. "And they're trusting Lockhart to save whoever it is." The incredulous tone Neville used was very amusing in Harry's opinion.

"It seems that way." Harry shrugged his shoulders and then began walking away. Well, he would have done if Neville hadn't of gripped his shoulder. Turning around Harry gave the Hufflepuff a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"You're not going to do anything?!" Neville's voice had risen in volume as he stared at Harry in shock.

Shrugging Neville's hand off his shoulder, Harry glared at the Longbottom Heir. "I'm not going to risk my life for someone I don't even know! Practically everyone in the entire school turned their back on me so why should I help whoever it is?!"

"Because what happens if was Theodore, or Blaise, or Peter, or Graham, or Hannah, or Susan! Hell, it could even be someone innocent like a First Year and we all know that they didn't choose any side! They simply remained neutral in everything! They always do!" Harry and Neville glared at one another heatedly before Harry sighed and looked away.

"Alright fine." Holding the bridge of his nose in frustration, Harry turned to look at the now pacing Neville. "What?"

"I just realised we don't even know where the Chamber of Secrets is!" Harry raised a brow in amusement at the lack of thought Neville put into his plan. "Don't look at me like that! We can't follow Lockhart as he's too much of a bloody fool to know where it is, and it could take us years to find the entrance!" Neville gripped his hair in frustration as he came to a stop. "Seriously, stop looking at me like that! It's not like you know where the entrance is. Do you?" He asked when he saw the 'I know something you don't know' look on Harry's face. "You do! You bloody bastard!"

"Actually, my parents were married when they had me so technically, I'm not a bastard." Harry smartly responded and chuckled when he saw Neville's glare directed at him. He stopped though when he took note of Neville's eyes beginning to glow much like his own did and the way his magic began to cause the Hogwarts building to crack in the surrounding area.

Raising his arms to placate Neville, he waited until the boy had calmed down before Harry began leading him in the direction of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Ehm, Harry?" Said boy hummed as if to say that Neville should continue. "How did you figure it out?"

"Where the Chamber of Secrets was hidden?" Neville nodded his head. "That was pretty easy actually. First, I figured out that Salazar's favourite sort of animal was a snake, so I realised that Salazar Slytherin's beast must be snake related. Thankfully, my account manager provided me with a list of powerful snake-like creatures. Then I narrowed it down to those that petrify their victims."

"A Basilisk?!" Neville's voice was but a whisper, however, it was breathless and filled with shocked awe as he realised what beast had been roaming around the school.

"Yep." Harry nodded his head to further cement this fact. "It got me thinking for a while on how the creature was getting around the school and what was near each area of the victims. The pipes." Harry paused for a few moments. "And as we all know, the centre of the plumbing system in Hogwarts is Moaning Myrtle's bathroom as no one goes there anymore, so that's where it was moved. Therefore, the entrance must be at Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

"Wait, why would it be here?" Neville questioned as they reached their destination. "Like you said, it was moved here so why wouldn't the entrance be where it was originally?"

"Because Neville, the plumbing system is spread out all over the school. However, the main area is here and not underneath the school like it was originally. Don't know why they moved it, but who am I to question their decision." Harry mumbled as they looked towards the sinks. "Anyway, the student that died when the Chamber of Secrets was opened first, was killed here, which leads me to the logical conclusion that this is the entrance."

"So, you're back?" Myrtle asked in her usual depressing tone of voice. Harry paid her no mind and hissed at the sink, and with multiple clinks the sink slowly sunk until it revealed a large hole in the floor.

"We're going down there?" Shaking his head in amusement, Harry switched to Parseltongue once more.

 _§Stairs. §_ Harry hissed, and then a large spiralling staircase formed, and Harry instantly began walking down the steps, Neville following closely behind him.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

"So, this is just lovely." Harry snarked as he looked around at the surrounding area. Neville stood beside him and was torn between looking amazed or terrified with the amount of bones decorating the floor. Despite becoming a lot more confident with time, Neville was still scared of things like any normal child his age. Harry on the other hand wasn't an ordinary child, he was abnormal, and loved to prove that the impossible was in fact, very possible.

"H-how can you just stand there and act like seeing the b-bones don't scare you?!" Neville was near hysterics, and he even gave a very girlish scream when he saw the carcass of a very, very, very, very large snake. "T-t-that thing is in the school?!"

"It seems so." Harry walked forwards and brushed his fingers against the length of the shed skin. "Amazing. This has to be at least sixty metres in length, if not more." Smirking, Harry turned towards Neville and saw that the boy didn't look as confident as before. "Still want to go through with this?"

That seemed to remind Neville of why they were here in the first place. "Yes." Gone was his stutter as he looked at the shed skin, even so fear still shined in his eyes. "How could I face my parents or any of my ancestors again if I ran away when someone is in need of help? My ancestors were once Vikings and they welcomed death with open arms, never fearing it and because of that they were feared throughout the world. I would be dishonouring them if I did the opposite of them."

Harry studied Neville for a few minutes and nodded his head, internally glad that he had Neville as a friend. The Longbottom was the main reason he was still able to walk the line between dark and light. He kept him from forgetting that inside the darkness of this world, that there is light as well. Something he would forever be grateful for.

"Well then, if you're dead set on saving this unknown student then as my friend it is my duty to make sure that your ass gets out of their alive. Just to let you know, you will tell your grandmother that this was your idea and not mine, as she would skin me alive." Neville gave a nervous laugh as he nodded his head. Then the two walked forwards and came across a small circular door. On it, was a head with multiple snakes surrounding the outside.

 _§Open. §_ A single stone snake slithered around the edges and the snakes surrounding the head moved inwards. "Well then, this is it." Neville and Harry walked inside the room and just like one would expect from a horror movie, the door shut behind them. "You know what I just realised?"

"What?" Neville turned to Harry with a raised eyebrow.

"I probably should have told Balthazar or Hedwig to inform the others." Neville smacked his hand against his face and dragged it down revealing the glare he was directing at Harry. "What? You didn't think of it either."

"Yea! You and Theodore are the ones that come up with these things, me, Blaise, Peter and Graham are the ones that simply go about and do it in our own fashion." Neville argued. "How would they even tell the others?! They can't even speak!"

"They're smart, both would have figured out a way to tell them." The Potter heir nonchalantly replied, causing Neville's glare to deepen.

"Wow, your ability to plan ahead is astounding." Neville sarcastically drawled. Shrugging his shoulder, Harry turned to look around as they came upon the main area of the Chamber of Secrets. It was beautiful but could do with being a little less damp in his opinion. "Look! There's the student!" Before Harry could stop Neville, the Longbottom heir rushed forwards and dropped to his knees by the student.

Sighing, Harry jogged towards the two and saw that it was Ginny Weasley, the younger sister of Ronald Weasley _. 'Well this is just great. If I save her, then the hero-worship problem she has for me will become even greater. Though, the Weasley's would owe me a debt which I can use later on in life. Especially if Ron proves to be even more bothersome than he already is.'_ Weighing the pros and cons for a few more moments, Harry decided that the pros of saving the youngest Weasley far outweighed the cons.

"She's breathing but I don't know why she won't wake up." Neville sounded a little panicked as he shook the unconscious Ginny.

"She won't wake up." Harry and Neville both looked towards the owner of the voice to see a handsome young man walking towards them. In his hand was a wand that he held so that it was pointing towards the ground.

"That's nice and all, but who are you?" Harry questioned while gripping his customised wand, the wand that was much more responsive and more powerful than the one he got from Ollivander's. It was the same wand he always used when duelling or fighting as it worked with him perfectly.

"Harry, now really isn't the time, the Basilisk might come at any point, so help me get Ginny out of here." Neville pressed urgently. Harry and the unknown young man stared at one another before Harry turned to help Neville.

"I wouldn't worry about the Basilisk." The young man said in his cultured and educated voice. "It won't come until it's called." Neville and Harry both had different reactions to what he said. Harry tensed as he narrowed his eyes at the young man, while Neville looked confused but had tensed when Harry did the same.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry stood up and pointed his wand at the black haired individual.

"He means Neville, that the Basilisk won't come until he calls it." Neville gasped in shock as he also stood up in shock, his wand in hand and poised at the black-haired man. However, even when faced with two wands he didn't show any signs of being worried.

Huffing in frustration, Neville sheathed his wand in its holster and turned to Harry. "We don't have time for this, we have to go."

"I can't allow you to do that." Neville turned back to face the young man. "For you see, as young Ginny gets weaker, I get stronger." Once again Neville drew his wand.

"And who the hell are you exactly?!" The young man smirked.

"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"That's a nice name and all, but I want to know what you mean. Why does Ginny getting weaker mean you get stronger? And how did you even open the Chamber of Secrets because I haven't seen you around school at all?" Harry inquired.

"Why, that's simple. It was Ginny Weasley that opened the Chamber of Secrets." There was a mad glint in his eye and he looked a lot like a megalomaniac unveiling his master plan. "It was Ginny who set the Basilisk on the Mudbloods, Filch's cat and Ginny who wrote the threatening messages on the walls."

"Why?" Harry pried.

"Because I told her to." His voice was mocking. "You'll find I can be very persuasive. Not that she knew what she was doing, she was…shall we say, in a trance?" His voice was questioning as he tried to find the correct way to describe Ginny's mental state when she did the things she did. "Still, she was terrified of the diary through which I communicated with her and she tried to dispose of it. However, she found it once more."

Neville looked between Harry and the young man as the two entered a staring contest. The atmosphere was tense, and Neville felt his eyes flicker between the two nervously.

"I must admit, I'm glad you came to save her. You are the person I have been most anxious to meet." The three began walking in a circle.

"Oh, and why's that?" It was Harry this time that had his voice filled with mocking.

"I knew I had to talk to you, meet you if I could. How is it, that a baby with no extraordinary magical talent, was able to defeat the Greatest Wizard of all time?!" Tom's dramatic speech was cut short by Harry beginning to laugh uproariously. Neville spared him a bewildered glance before he too found himself struggling to contain his laughter. Then he lost it and began laughing just as much as Harry. "What is so funny?!" Tom demanded with anger being heard clearly in his voice.

"Y-y-you th-think Voldemort is the greatest, greatest wiz-wizard of all ti-time." Harry gasped out between fits of laughter. For a few moments Neville and Harry continued to laugh before they finally managed to calm down. "Wooh, I haven't laughed like that in a long time."

"Me neither." Neville wiped a stray tear from his left eye.

"What was so funny?!" Tom demanded once more.

"Ickle Voldy-kins is the greatest wizard of all time." Harry looked away as his shoulders shook in mirth as he tried to quell his rising amusement at just muttering the phrase. "Cuddlemort doesn't even enter the top twenty strongest wizards of all time. In fact, it has been stated that he was ranked thirty-three in position for strongest, which is still impressive. However, the difference between the top ten and the rest is said to be like comparing a puppy to a full-grown wolf."

Tom flushed in anger and humiliation as Harry continued to mock Lord Voldemort.

"ENOUGH!" He roared as his magic swirled around him dangerously. Harry and Neville looked unperturbed by this as it wasn't much different to either of them when they got angry. "I did become the strongest wizard of all time!"

"Ohhh, now that is interesting. Tell me, Tom Marvolo Riddle, what are you trying to say?" Harry asked. Smirking, Tom raised his wand and began spelling out his name in the air, the flaming letters forming the words:

 _Tom Marvolo Riddle._

Then Tom swished his wand and the letters began rearranging before their very eyes until they spelled out the words:

 _I am Lord Voldemort._

Harry and Neville blinked and blinked again as they read the letters before Harry began laughing again. Neville however, only gave a nervous chuckle, not truly understanding what was so funny.

Calming down, Harry faced Tom. "Now this just keeps getting better and better. "Lord Voldums is actually a mudblood. Wait till I pronounce this to the world." Tom ground his teeth in anger and glared at Harry hatefully.

"I am no mudblood, I am a half-blood. Son of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Merope Gaunt." Harry's eyes widened in shock before being replaced with a look of interest and calculation.

"So, you truly are the descendant of Salazar Slytherin?" Neville whispered in awe and Tom nodded his head smugly.

"I am." Then Tom turned to face Harry, who was continuing to study him closely.

"Tell me Tom. How are you here looking barely a day over sixteen when you should easily be over fifty years old now?" Harry inquired, his curiousness getting the better of him. Tom smirked as he recounted his tale of how he opened the Chamber of Secrets years ago. Neville and Harry listened attentively until he finished. "Thank you." Harry said sincerely before his magic swirled to life. _"Bombarda!"_

Tom's eyes widened in shock as he raised a hasty shield that not only collided but destroyed the shield and flung Tom back till he collided against the mouth of Salazar Slytherin.

Neville turned to face Harry and flinched away in shock at the sight. He hadn't seen Harry lose control, but he had been there when the Sixth Year Slytherin's recounted the tale. His eyes were glowing so brightly that they would occasionally flicker between glowing green to a sickly yellow. His wand arm trembled as he stared coldly at the prone form of Tom.

"Come now, Tom Marvolo Riddle. That can't have been enough to kill you can it or is this all the great Lord Voldemort was capable of? My you truly are weak, I guess you had to go through a lot of rituals to make yourself a proper wizard." Tom released a groan and raised his hand towards the statue.

Before he could do anything, Harry fired a Disembowelling Curse, Entrail Expelling Curse, Blood Boiling curse, Blood Freezing curse, Severing Curse and multiple other dark curses towards the form of Tom. Only one managed to hit and that had been the Severing Curse and all it did was leave a small little line on his arm, one that also appeared on Ginny.

"Harry wait, you will kill Ginny." This seemed to snap Harry out of his temporary rage induced moment at the sound of Neville's voice. He turned to see the two before turning back to the murderer of his parents and his rage rose once more.

However, before he could do anything, Tom raised his hand once more. _§Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four! §_ Then there was a clicking sound as the mouth slowly opened and from it nothing appeared.

Neville and Harry shared a glance before turning to face the confident Tom. Then they heard the sound of something rushing towards them. Together they looked and saw the shadows shifting.

"Neville, close your eyes!" Neville did so, and Harry copied the action.

 _§Kill them. §_ Tom ordered and then Harry knew that he would not be able to fight both Tom and the Basilisk. His mind instantly began deducing which was the greater threat.

The Basilisk. With Harry's greater knowledge of magic, repertoire of spells, physical capabilities, magical control and overall amount of magic that meant he would be best suited to deal with the King of Serpents.

Tom on the other hand was nowhere near as powerful as he had expected from the person that would soon become Lord Voldemort, who despite being a bit arrogant in believing he was the strongest wizard of all time, was still very powerful. That meant he had used rituals and other things to increase his magical reserves, something which was both intriguing and worrying. Nevertheless, Neville could easily hold off the young Voldemort in time for him to figure out a way to dispose of him without killing Ginny.

"Neville!" Harry let his magic flow into the ground and instantly jumped to the side, avoiding the jaws of the Basilisk by a mere inch. "Move Ginny away from here and deal with Tom. I will hold off the Basilisk."

Neville nodded his head and due to the magical vibrations in the ground, Neville knew that Harry had the Basilisk's full and undivided attention. This left Tom for him and he was surprised by the amount of magic it held. It was barely bigger than Harry's. With renewed confidence, Neville rose to his feet and stared at Tom.

"You may not have turned my parents into what they are now, but those that did, did it on your orders. For that, I'm gonna make sure that you don't escape this chamber alive." With a roar Neville fired off an Entrail Expelling Curse followed up by a Severing Curse and then a Reductor Curse.

Tom was prepared this time and parried the first curse, though he was surprised by the amount of power behind it. Awkwardly, he moved to one side avoiding the second spell and then raised a powerful shield to absorb the final spell.

In retaliation, Tom fired off multiple dark curses that Neville dodged or used a shield to absorb those he could not. With a grunt of effort, Neville flicked his wand upwards and with it two small streams of water shot from the pond and shot towards Tom's back. A Water-Making Spell from Tom counteracted this attack however, it had been a distraction.

 _"Incendio!"_ Tom jumped backwards into the puddle and avoided the flames before he went to move but found he couldn't. Looking down he saw multiple pieces of seaweed growing up the length of his leg slowly inhibiting his movement. With a roar of anger, he fired his own spells at the Longbottom Heir. Despite his young age, Neville had both stamina, greater physical capabilities and surprise on his side. Tom on the other hand had a much larger magical core, greater control and more experience.

These things cancelled each other out and now the two were locked in a duel of attrition.

Neville was thoroughly grateful that this was a young Voldemort, before he entered his prime because he had no doubt this fight would have ended the instant it had begun. Hopefully, Harry could find a way to get rid of the apparition of Tom without killing Ginny soon because his life might just depend on it.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

As soon as Harry told Neville to go after Tom, Harry blocked everything out. He allowed his instincts to take over, while he thought of a way to remove Tom from play. None were working as it involved killing Ginny.

Firing a few spells, mainly cutting and wide area damage spells at the hide of the Basilisk to see if he could find any weak spots in it. He knew that nothing was indestructible, there was just no known way to destroy it. Besides, he was a fan of making the impossible, possible. It was a hobby of his.

Pushing off one hand in a back-hand spring, Harry flicked his wand and from both pools multiple large streams of water shot up and collided with the Basilisk. The force behind them all halting it in place. Harry was glad to know that he had improved his ability with controlling water as he could now create more than ten large streams of water and hold them for a minute and still counting without any feeling of strain.

Knowing this was only a temporary solution, Harry flicked his wand and instantly the air around the streams cooled the streams. It was a slow process as Harry purposely made it this way. This was because shards of ice would collide with the hide of the Basilisk and test its thickness and like now, when it was fully turned to ice, the streams held it in place.

With this temporary breather, Harry began thinking of a way he could get rid of Tom. _'He said that as Ginny grows weaker he grows stronger. The obvious way would be to then kill Ginny, but that's out of the question.'_ Damn him and his morals sometimes, this would have been far easier if he didn't have any and just killed the young girl. 'And I don't know how to reverse the process so I'm drawing a blank.'

Before he could think any further, the Basilisk came free and rushed towards him at great speeds. Harry barely had any time to jump to safety before the Basilisk's jaws snapped shut in the position he once stood.

With a gasp of air, Harry shut up for air and instantly he realised his mistake as he stared into the eyes of the Basilisk. The two stared for a few moments before it tilted its head in confusion. Harry meanwhile was also confused. Why hadn't he died yet? Death was definitely confirmed when someone stared into the eyes of a Basilisk.

Then he clutched his head in pain as he heard someone releasing a bloodcurdling scream. Instantly he found himself in the room of his first defence and watched as the five bottles that contained the separate entity cracked before the black smoke inside them pooled to form a face on the floor. Its mouth was open in a scream before it collapsed in on itself.

Collapsing to his knees, Harry began heaving as he tried to get air into his lungs. Once he had done, he shakily got to his feet and turned to face the Basilisk. Already he felt a huge difference now that the entity was all gone. His body felt cleaner and fitter, his mind a lot clearer and his magic was all but raring to be released. It shocked him at how eager it was to be released.

None-the-less, he gave in to the desire of his magic and let it be released. Plants shot up from the bottom of the pool and wrapped around the body of the Basilisk. Then water shot up and collided with the side of it, forcing it into the pool on the other side of the walkway.

As soon as its scaly body collided with the bottom of it, more plants wrapped around its width and further constricted its movement.

Do not allow this advantage to go.

Harry didn't know where the voice came from, but he followed its order and flicked his wand once more. Moisture from the air formed into a spear and with a flick of his wand, it froze forming a spear of ice. Thrusting his wand forwards, the shot down and pierced the hide of the Basilisk. To his disappointment it didn't go very deep and shattered upon impact.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

With a gasp of pain, Neville jumped to the ground narrowly avoiding the curse sent his way before rolling along the ground to avoid a few more spells aimed for bodily harm. It was by pure luck that his eyes caught sight of the diary and instantly everything clicked into place

 _'Tom said that he sealed all his memories inside that thing. If we destroy it, then we can destroy him.'_ Giddy with this thought, Neville fired a multitude of destructive and damaging spells as he could at the diary, only for them to do nothing but fling it around. Growling in frustration, Neville went back to trying to avoid the spells, his movements however, were much sloppier than they previously were as a result of his stamina getting lower.

"So, you figured it out." Tom condescendingly said. "It won't matter, nothing you do will destroy my diary."

"We'll see." Neville responded, however, just like his movements, his spells were lacking in speed and power. Tom on the other hand was as good as new. He had more magic and greater control meant that he was using less magic in multiple spells than Neville was in a single one. "Harry! The diary! We have to destroy the diary!" Neville shouted and with that returned his full concentration to his own battle.

 **-X- Line Break -X-**

Groaning, Harry stumbled backwards as the adrenaline began leaving his system, making all his systems come crashing down as tiredness began claiming him. Shaking his head, Harry slipped off the edge of the pathway and into the pool once more.

 _'How am I meant to destroy the diary? From what I saw Neville tried every spell I would have done to destroy it, so how are we meant to do that?'_ Normally, Harry wasn't a quitter, but right now his entire body was screaming to rest. Whatever was killed inside of his mind was obviously playing a serious part in his current condition as he still had enough magic to create multiple streams and then turn them into ice like he did at the start. So why? Why was he so tired?

Pathetic. To think you would give up so easily. What would your parents think if you died on your knees instead of on your feet? Especially when one of your friends is counting on you.

It was but a short and simple sentence, yet it had so much truth to it. How could he face his parents if he didn't do everything he could to rescue one of his friends? The answer is, he couldn't. They may forgive him in time, but he would still forever feel like he didn't deserve such forgiveness if he was the reason Neville or any of his friends died.

Neville. He, Theodore and Blaise were by far his four greatest friends. His best, and the ones that held his absolute trust. If he let Neville die because he gave up, then he would never be able to face any of them again. Not only that, but what if there was a chance in the future when Neville's parents return to sanity and Neville isn't there to see them? No, he would not fail here, he would not die, and he would protect his friends no matter the cost.

Something cold and solid brushed against his fingers and Harry grasped it. As soon as he stood to his feet he looked down and saw that he was holding the blade of Godric Gryffindor in his hand, and it was just as beautiful as it was described to be. No wonder thousands of wizards and witches from all over the globe searched for it.

Giving it a few swings, he realised how right it felt in his hands. Though in his opinion, it was bit too long and bit too thin for his tastes. That didn't bother him, he just preferred shorter blades that were a bit thicker, so as to be used for a multitude of purposes.

Still, he made do with what he had and after climbing onto the pathway once more, he rushed towards the Basilisk and with a roar he jumped. Time seemed to slow down in his opinion as he drove the blade through the small gap he had made in the Basilisk's hide. The scream he got from the creature as a result was saddening. Made even more so by the creatures dying whisper.

 _§Thank you, human. §_ He didn't know why it was thanking him, but it didn't matter as he quickly rushed towards Neville.

"Neville! Catch!" Throwing the sword in the air, Harry kicked the diary across the floor, so it landed at the Longbottom Heir's feet. Neville meanwhile, caught the blade and swung it down, unminding of the scream of outrage from Tom. As soon as the blade struck the diary Tom's screams of outrage became screams of pain as his entire body began to glow before exploding.

Neville and Harry collapsed to their knees before turning to face one another. Chuckling the two collapsed onto their backs and began laughing even more so. No one knew why, neither did they, but they continued to laugh anyway.

 **A/N: So, I hope you enjoyed the story, especially the fight scene between Harry and Neville vs Tom and the Basilisk. Now I know like always, there will be those of you who don't read the author's notes, but if you are and you're still confused on how Neville managed to hold Tom off, let me explain. In my fic, Tom was above average in terms of the size of his magical core and the amount of magical control he had. It was greater than even Harry's, but it was nowhere near the strength he displayed in the First Blood War or even before that.**

 **PLEASE READ THIS, I'M BEING SERIOUS. BLOODY READ IT.**

 **Tom in this story only gained that sort of strength through a multitude of rituals he did AFTER he left Hogwarts. Bear in mind, Tom made the diary while still in Hogwarts and this allowed Neville to keep up. However, the main reason Neville lasted as long as he did was because of his superior physical capabilities. He was a lot more agile, allowing him to avoid Tom's spells and very rarely used a shield which meant he mainly focused on offense. Then there was the fact that Tom could only use a shield to block Neville's spells as Neville had immobilised Tom near enough at the start of the fight. This gave Neville the ability to last as long as he did and no other reason. There's no godlike Neville, just a wizard using common sense, unlike the rest of his brethren.**

 **Anyway, if you have any more questions please let me know, and I will answer them as best as I can without spoiling the rest of the story too much. So, until next time.**


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